A New Destruction
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: The final battle has arrived. Cooper, Charmcaster, Julie and a powerless Kevin are all facing the inevitable: a new destruction. *Complete! Thanks for reading!
1. Stranger Beginnings

**A/N: OMNJ!!!! (for those of u that don't kno, that is "Oh My Nick Jonas") Here r my thoughts on Ben 10: Alien Swarm:**

**Ben****: HE WAS WAAYYYYY 2 SMART!!! Just a thought. But they got a great actor for him!! Kevin shuldve been the brains for the tech along with Gwen and Elena. Ben needs to stand in the background and PRETEND to be smart. Like he is in the real series! Just my thoughts tho. And I liked the usage of calling him Benji again.**

**Omnitrix aliens****: guuuuuuuuuuuuuddddddddd!!!!!! Especially Big Chill and Humongosaur! (Hope I spelled that rite! Tell me if I did or didn't!)**

**Gwen****: I didn't like her hair. At all. And I wuznt a big fan of the actress choice. Other than that, great job! They hit the character almost perfectly! She was too nice to Kevin. She's a naturally vicious person unless he's hurt or sumthing. Other than that, she'd chew him out for breaking a door.**

**Her powers: culd've been better.**

**Kevin****: wut can I say? I'm a total Kevin softie! That boy is my one weak spot for anything! He was perfect. Great actor. They created his character brilliantly. I mean, I can't say it enough times. He was hilarious and Kevin-y and awesome! Although they called him "Kev" waayyyyy too many times! It bugged me, but u kinda get used to it. But seriously, it's Kevin not Kev. And y wuld he build Ben a car??? A little out of character, but wutever. The rest of the movie had him as a great character and the funniest guy in the whole thing!**

**His powers****: they didn't show it much! I was seriously disappointed with that! But I figure it must b hard 2 put special effects into that. Gwen and Ben's r easier.**

**Kevin's Car****: Y DID BEN DESTROY IT?!?!?! DID HE JUST FEEL THE URGE TO ANNIHILATE SOMETHING?????? But it looked like the whole thing was made out of plastic or sumthing… **

**Max****: meh. Not impressed. Wish they wuldve kept the actor from the first live action movie. He was better. And where wuz the original Hawaiian shirt????????**

**New Alien Thing****: ………………… my thoughts are my thoughts. i personally didn't like it much, but it was definitely a good temporary edition for the movie.**

**Plotline****: it wuz good. Culdve been better. But it made a good movie and they actually cut in a few good special effects.**

**Again, these r my thoughts. Comment and share with me. It helps.**

**So in honor of the movie, u shall get my totally new story!!!! Full length and all!!!**

**I ran this whole thing thru my head about a thousand times last night and I think it'll be amazingly awesome! Wish me luck and enjoy! And remember I haven't slept in three days cuz i was working on this whole plan!**

* * *

"Locked," he snarled fiercely. Looking over his shoulder for any sign of the danger that was surely coming for him, he took off his ID mask so his powers could form his hand into the right shape to pick the window's lock. After a few seconds, it was done. He struggled getting the window open, but finally succeeded. He put the mask back on and watched his arm turn back to his normal human skin again. The ID mask didn't do everything. He had to take it off a lot for fights and the necessities of breaking and entering.

Another glance over his shoulder. Nothing was coming. Yet at least.

It was a time game. A very tense time game. A running time game. A life or death kind of time game. One that he wouldn't try to attack or escape. It would only be futile.

This was his torture. The uncertainty and anxiety had been eating away at his mind for days.

He slid in the room, nearly getting stuck in the window when it threatened to fall on him. There wasn't enough energy in him to hold it up very well. _Everything is getting difficult._ "Gwen, you seriously need to get a bigger window," he hissed, mostly to himself.

Looking over at her, he could see she was peaceful. She was relaxed. That girl didn't deserve what was coming. None of them did. Her fiery red hair shone in the black shadows of her room like a beacon calling to him. He would go to her if he could figure out how to avoid getting stuck in a window. The only thing that was missing were those gorgeous eyes that he absolutely adored. If those eyes just didn't open one day… He shuddered at the thought. He would never let that happen.

Too bad it already would. It was the sad truth of his reality.

She could hear his words even in her sleep. Gwen's eyes fluttered open and she shot her violet-pink mana out at the intruder, pinning him against a wall on the other side of her room. "What are you doing in here?"

"For Christ's sake, put me down!" Kevin whined. "I'm not meant to fly!" He squirmed uncomfortably, finding it weird to not be touching the ground and floating in midair. It was all easier when Gwen just built her platforms so he could stand on them. At least it was like touching the ground. "This is so weird… Does your mana always feel like this?" It was either him, or her powers had gotten stronger. _Probably me…_

"What are _you _doing in here?" she repeated a stern tone in her voice. She made a careful note to pull up her too-small red-orange colored spaghetti strap tank top a little further and make sure her hot pink shorts were still on the right way. Then she ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it wasn't a total mess. Of course, it was. She tried to fix it the best she could with one hand. After all, it wasn't every night Kevin decided to ransack her room for no apparent reason.

Kevin was still distracted by the whole mana thing. It seemed more pink-y-ish and stronger to the point of nearly crushing him. He was hoping Gwen had her whole Anodite thing under control. If she squished him… That'd be a weird thought. The girl he loved subconsciously killing him… "We need to leave. Like, now." He poked the mana with a cold, callused finger. "Put me down?" Then as an after thought, "Please?"

She rolled her emerald eyes and dropped him with a harsh _**thud**__._ Probably a little harder than she meant to. "Can I at least get an explanation before you drag me out of my room in the middle of night without a reason? What's going on?"

"No time," he breathed, getting up slowly, trying not to fall over again, and feeling like crap. The carpet in her room didn't provide much protection. It could still be painful. He brushed off his shirt a bit, feeling slightly recovered. Not enough though. "Did you know that your floor hurts?"

Gwen winced. Yeah. A little too hard. "Sorry." She walked to him, putting a gentle hand out to touch his for comfort and looked him over.

He looked like crap, the same way he was feeling. Exhausted and tense, like he had to stay alert for every second of the day. Not like Kevin. And she hadn't heard any of his legendary stupid jokes yet. Very weird. He wasn't standing confidently anymore. He was slouched down and kept his brown gaze away from hers. As far as Gwen could tell his eyes were clouded over with pain and dark. Well, at least darker than normal. But the pain was something new. "What happened to you?" she asked, suddenly worried for him. Her voice had jumped in pitch with just those few words. He was the guy that always took care of himself, but this was a time where he wasn't.

"We've got some problems," Kevin looked up and his eyes met hers desperately. A cold anguish was hiding deeply. "Pack your bags."

"What-"

"Please listen to me. Just this once."

Wow. Kevin Levin. Begging. And saying please for the second time in one night. The redhead wasn't sure what to think about it.

"Now, Gwen. There's not much time."

She didn't wonder about it any longer. He would keep her safe and in one piece even if he was stealing her away in the middle of the night. It could've been anything from a mission to a secret date. Nothing would surprise her. She went into her closet and grabbed a bag. Trusting Kevin was hard. But he would never put her in danger. She knew that.

"Ben's already out in the car," Kevin said, lying on the bed in the middle of the room. He was tired enough to collapse, but this wasn't a time for rest. Their safety depended on him. "And Max keeps all the other Plumber's kids in the newest Rustbucket, right?" _That way they'll all get away faster. _He closed his eyes and prayed for luck to be on his side for the days to come.

He had no room for mistakes. He had no time to make them. People were relying on him whether they knew it or not.

"Kevin, what is this about?" Gwen asked, still throwing some old sweatshirts and tees in a bag. The question of a secret date was out. A bit disappointed, she went on. "You want the Plumber's kids too?"

He had to keep awake. The dark teen breathed in the smell of her room. It smelled like a lavender and vanilla mix. _Incredible,_ Kevin thought. _Just like her. _"I don't _want_ them. We just have to get them away. It's complicated." He rubbed his eyes. It was getting harder to keep focused on his task ahead and not fall into unconsciousness and let the waves of darkness and rest wash over him no matter how much he needed it. The scent of the room threatened to put him to sleep. It was so nice and sweet. And Gwen was there, close. He didn't need to worry about anything. "I just want this nightmare to end, alright? The faster we're gone, the easier it'll be." _For everyone._

_FOCUS, KEVIN, FOCUS! _His brain was screaming at him. Their lives depended on him and he wanted to sleep. _What kind of a savior am I?_

Gwen didn't want to question him further. Kevin wasn't in any shape to be arguing with her. He wasn't even in any shape to drive. Why did he even come? How did he even get there without crashing?

She gazed out the closet door for a moment. He was lying on her bed, looking like he was trying to sleep. But that was the least of her worries. His health was in the dumps and she could see it without even trying. "How'd you get in?" Conversation could keep him up if that's what he wanted. She pulled a jacket on over her tank top, but stayed in her pajama shorts, not wanting to waste time changing. And Kevin was only a wall away… It'd be too awkward.

"Same way I get in everywhere else." His response was cool and collected, showing none of his true exhaustion. "Absorb and destroy."

"You have a tendency to break things, don't you?" She couldn't suppress a tiny grin. She had a soft spot for his bad side. It was charming whether he knew it or not. Odds were, he knew it and that's why he kept it up.

"It's in my blood." His eyes strayed out the window. The car was sitting, waiting, ready. The exhaust fumes floated out the tailpipe as the heat ran to keep the passengers inside warm and safe. "Hurry up, would you?"

The redhead threw a few pairs of old, tattered jeans in her tiny duffel bag. It'd be enough to get her through. Whatever Kevin had planned, she wanted to be prepared for the worst. "Okay. Done."

Kevin struggled to get up. "Come on. Let's head."

"What about my parents?" Gwen threw the strap over her shoulder. "They'll want to know where I went."

It was true and Kevin knew it. He thought it over for a second. Gwen was more worried about them calling the cops and telling them Kevin kidnapped her. He _was_ an ex-con…

He shuddered slightly as the cold air rushed through the window when he slid it open by just an inch. "No time. I'll have Max call them."

"Seriously? Is this that important?" She raised an eyebrow with surprise.

"More than ever." He held open the window for her and Gwen scrambled out. Kevin followed, a bit slower, his body still refusing to function properly. Something gold caught his eye, next to the window on Gwen's nightstand. He scooped it up and tucked it in his pocket before sliding down the roof, nearly falling. _Amazing how Gwen forgets things._

Kevin hit the grassy lawn with an even harder _**thud**_ than in Gwen's room. He let out a tiny moan and tried to get to his feet. It hurt. Really, really bad. It felt like his lungs would explode and his legs would fall out from under him if he stood. When did he get so clumsy? He'd never fallen out a window! It wasn't time for another stupid mistake! The whole reason this was happening because the first mistake slipped past him years ago! It shouldn't happen anymore! It shouldn't have happened in the first place!

A hand touched his shoulder. "Come on. You need help." She pulled him up, making sure he was stable enough to stand before carefully leading him to the car. "Get up. We'll get through this together. I promise."_ Whatever this is, it had better end fast so he doesn't kill himself. _

But it was only the beginning.

* * *

**A/N: btw, tell me how to spell manna rite. Mana or manna? I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I hope I got it right. Review and let me know what you think and answer my question because I'm totally lost even though spelling is my strong point. Lol. R&R!! **

**THANKIEZZZZ!!! HOPE YOU LIKED IT!!!!! MORE COMING SUPER DUPER SOON!!! ALREADY STARTED CHAPTER 2!!!!**


	2. The Sad Truth

****

A/N: First chapter went great by my standards! So here's the second one. They're going to be a little short at first, but I swear they'll get longer. I'm still finding it hard to write 'em super long when FanFiction stretches it out to long sentences and make the pages wide and stuff. It makes it insanely hard for me to make the stories seem long, but they are to me, so I'm working on it

**Chapter 2! Thanks!**

**And btw, I'm totally loving the feedback I got after only a day!!! Just checked the traffic page for the first chapter, and wow. I was totally blown away. Keep reading and I'll keep writing! Promise! And to understand Annie, read Car Arguments. More of those will be coming soon, but I wanted to get this started first. So far, so good!**

The harsh wind outside nipped at them as Gwen moved into the passenger seat and Kevin fell into the driver's seat. Literally. His hair fell over his icy, vacant expression.

"You can't drive right now," a firm, strong voice said from the back of the car. "Not after you fell off a roof. It's dangerous." A fragile, warm hand reached forward to brush a few silky ebony strands out of his eyes.

"I can and I will," Kevin argued fiercely, putting the car into drive. He didn't want to argue right now. His voice was tired and pained, like the rest of his broken body. Sadly, she was right. He couldn't drive. Not like he'd ever admit to it though. "You can't tell me what to do."

"I _can_ tell you what to do. So you're going to sit and sleep, right now." It was a demand. Non-negotiable. And he didn't decide to fight it.

Kevin groaned and climbed out of the car again after putting it back into park. Muscles screaming in protest when he moved, he leaned on the frame of the car for support as his mom got out after him. She braced him so he didn't collapse when he got back into the car a moment later to sit in the warm, leather backseat beside Ben and Annie. He put his head back and closed his eyes. His curly blonde little sister crawled onto his lap. The passenger seat was reserved for Gwen. He made sure of it. She'd already fought him once about it. Going through that argument again wasn't on his to-do list.

_Saving lives was._

The redhead gazed back at him in his misery. There were dark rings around his eyes that she hadn't noticed before. "How long has it been since you slept?" she asked, a tone of genuine concern in her voice. "You look like you could die right now." Her emerald eyes twinkled as she looked back at him.

"And you look like crap," Ben added with a stupid smile. He took every opportunity available to insult the older teen. As if he'd miss one as good as that.

"It's been nearly a week. And I _look_ like crap because we all _could_ die." He re-thought that. Suddenly, a lot of thoughts came at once. He sorted through it for a second before replying. "Except Max, my mom, and Annie. Ben's sort of borderline at this point. I'm still working on his risk factor. It's more complicated since the Omnitrix is partially his DNA but kind of not at the same time and it's so deeply connected with him 'cause it's all in his bloodstream and stuff. But we're better safe than sorry. It's hard to explain right now. My head is killing me. Plus, I _feel_ like crap for the record. Thanks for pointing that out, Benji." He wanted to slap the younger boy, but he didn't have the energy.

Gwen smiled. He was at least saying more words than he'd spoken all night to her. That had to be a good sign of something.

Or not…

Ben glanced at Gwen. It was new information for him. Not that Kevin felt like crap. Ben could clearly see that. He was quiet for once. And he'd just fallen off a roof. The point that his cousin could possibly die was the main point of his concern. That and he could die himself. "Stupid Omnitrix," Ben muttered, barely audible. As if it weren't annoying enough when it didn't work, it was more annoying when it did work and decided that it wanted something to kill him.

Kevin's mom was driving already. Her turns were much more precise and less crazed than her son's. "There's a lot only he can explain since he was the one who found out first with the schematics and all, but I can give you kids the basics. There's a bomb and it's going to wipe out anyone with alien powers. There's not much time left so we're working as fast as we can. It's pretty complicated, like Kevin said. Even more so with Ben's Omnitrix issue because we aren't sure what those effects are yet." She took a deep breath. "Like Kevin said, it's not an easy thing to deal with."

"And where are we going?" Ben asked. His eyes lit up. A bomb? How much better could this day get? _Can I disable it? Oooo! I could blow it up with Jetray or Chromastone! Or Brainstorm! That's perfect! Oh yeah! Definitely Brainstorm! Unless… EchoEcho could be better if it needs to be destroyed a certain way… If I have to use Alien X at the last second, I will. Anything to save the world. Although I'm not sure how well I'll be able to cope for the rest of eternity with all that fighting that goes on…_

"No, actually." A nervous grimace crossed her face. "There's a safe haven that Kevin set up. It's immune to the bomb's effects and it shouldn't be penetrated by anything. Everyone should be safe there," the woman answered. "Or at least that's what we're hoping."

"Hoping?" gulped Ben. Being wiped out because of his heritage and the Omnitrix was not on his list of chores for the week. And the odds were, his parents wouldn't be very happy when he showed up late for curfew one night and never came back. _Stupid Omnitrix._

Gwen stared back at Kevin. That's why he'd been so busy lately. The last few days, he'd been missing for missions and late for every meeting. They'd even had to call their parents for rides a few times. "How long have you known about this?"

He made a mental note to remember to breathe. His body wasn't functioning right anymore. "Long enough to set up the safe haven with all the latest tech. It's good enough to last. I'm just mad that we can't get all the Plumber's kids from everywhere. They'll be stripped of their powers and maybe even killed if the bomb is built right."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Didn't want you to worry. It was easier working on this project solo." He opened one eye to reveal a slit of darkness beneath it. An agonizingly pained coal color that was sparked with temporary amusement. "You guys should know that teamwork has never been one of my strong points."

"And if your safe haven doesn't work?" Ben asked.

The occurrence hit Gwen as soon as her cousin said it. Her gaze flicked back to Kevin's. Their eyes connected for a second. She saw a bit of fear and sadness there. _Woah. That's something new for him. So… not-Kevin-like._

It was a problem Kevin had considered a massive number of times. He wasn't ready to think of the destruction that would be caused if it didn't work. All the effort he'd put into it, wasted. And not to mention what all he could lose… Everything he'd ever loved. That's what'd be gone. He put a hand on his forehead. _Now is not the time for a headache._ Kevin let out a tiny groan. As if it couldn't get worse.

"Come on, Kev! Tell us!" an irritated Ben whined from a seat away. His impatience was getting to him.

"Guys, you have alien powers," he murmured, barely wanting to think of the cost if he had made a mistake. Falling off the roof wasn't making it look any better for him.

"So?" Ben snarled in frustration. He slammed his fist on the seat next to him causing Annie to cling a little closer to her brother.

"Think about it." Kevin's expression became more solemn as if it wasn't already. He hugged his sister tightly. She already knew her doom. It was a harder destiny than even he had to face. He looked to see her eyes sparkling with small, unshed tears. She was being strong for him. For all of them.

"Kevin?" Gwen asked. Her mind was still rewinding through it all, trying to put it all together like a jigsaw puzzle with too many of the wrong kind of pieces.

He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice as cold a stone, to hide his breaking emotions that were really there. "You'll die."

* * *

**A/N: I kno!! Short, but it kind of had to be this way!! They will definitely get longer and as they do, it'll take me longer to post them. I'm really hoping this was good! Happy Holidays if I don't get another one up anytime soon!! Give me a week or two. From this point, it's all a bit touch and go. Still planning parts between now and the end, but this is going to be a seriously long FanFic! I promise it will be awesome! **

**Luv ya! **

**~Sky**

**P.S. I hope you enjoy the suspense.**


	3. Universal

**A/N: Okay, the original copy got deleted (courtesy of basketball, my sister, and an idiotic flash drive). So finally, after a week or two, here is the third chapter!! Sorry about the delay. I'll get right back on it once I'm back from winter break! This story will be switching views a lot. Mostly Gwen or Kevin though. And a lot of third person. JSYK!**

**Gwen's POV**

* * *

My head spun in a tense moment of shock. Woah. Dying? That wasn't exactly what I was hoping for tonight. I was waiting for some sleep to come when he'd broken through my window. And apparently, I needed a bigger window. That, or Kevin needed a smaller head. Then again, he was built stronger than most guys for a reason.

So I do need a bigger window.

"What do you mean 'you'll'?" I asked. His word choice had bugged me. Either he was saying it wrong, something I wouldn't doubt, or it was just me.

Kevin's head sank into the seat further. "I'm immune," he murmured. "It's complicated." His ebony tinted black hair hung in his face, blocking his eyes. I only saw a sliver of the brown-ish blackness that shone out like a ray of a dark sun. Then it disappeared completely as he curled up, holding Annie in his strong arms.

Even though I'd been told the worst possible thing I could probably hear in awhile, I couldn't help but push the thought away and be suddenly jealous of the blonde girl in the backseat. Why couldn't I be back there? I wanted to sit next to him and have him sleep on my shoulder whether he snored or not. As long as he was right there. As long as he wouldn't leave me.

Focus. Death. Issue. Bad, Gwen. Don't think of Kevin right now. He's safe for now. He's immune. You're not.

Somehow, that seemed so much harder than it should've been. "So- we'll- we'll- die? How? Why? What? Let's stop it!" I argued, my voice quaking with every. No way would I ever go down without a fight. This was part of my expertise. I would keep going and working until it was safe again.

Ben was supposed to be freaking out as much as I was, but instead he had a blank, stunned expression on his face.

Kevin was still sitting there loyally, relaxing. His eyes were closed, which made me miss him that much more when he wasn't even gone yet, and his breathing was becoming rhythmic. I could tell he was slowly letting the sleep attack his mind and take over so he could rest again. Already, his fight had gone on too long. It was time he let it end with a surrender. That was when he finally let go of the world and drifted off into his own (most likely strange) dream world. But he was Kevin. No one knew what to expect with him around.

I nearly reached back to wake him again, desperate for answers, but I fought the urge with a sense of necessity. He needed sleep and I needed to take a serious chill-pill. A quickly effective chill-pill. Like, now would be nice world! Drop it in my lap or something. Oh that's right. My freaking chill-pill is in the freaking backseat sleeping. He was the only thing that could ever get me to relax at a time of need like this.

"He's gone for now. This is the sleep he needs."

It was the first time his mother had spoken to me directly since I got in the car. Her voice was like music vibrating in my ears. I could tell why Kevin's words had the same addictive quality to them. Annie had a different tone, but it was just as perfect in a weird way.

Guess a lot of things run in his family.

"Yeah." The one word I could muster stung in my throat. Jeez, I cannot speak. I feel like an idiot. I could say a thousand things. I could ask a thousand questions. But I don't. I sit there with a one word response that is practically the answer to everything. Yeah. It sucks. Yeah. I love Kevin. Yeah. I'm sitting in his car thinking about my death.

That's definitely not normal.

"This has been really hard on all of us. We're working to fight this just as much as any other person would. More is resting on Kevin than you could ever imagine." Her light sky blue gaze flitted from me, to the rearview to check on her son, and back to the road once again.

It's gotta be stress on her too. That never occurred to me. And at that moment, it did. "I know. We've saved the universe. It's no biggie at this point." Great way to start a conversation with her. Just freaking perfect.

She let out a soft sigh. "Well, Kevin is going to have to do it again. Solo this time."

That's right. I forgot. I'm going to die. Thanks a lot. "Why?" A shiver ran down my spine. Kevin taking on the world alone was nothing new. I just never imagined him fighting without Ben and I on his sides.

"With you guys gone, he'll be back on his own again. It's rare that he stays home anymore. Especially since he found out about this. He hasn't slept, hasn't eaten, hasn't left a computer or this safe haven for days." A hand moved up to her forehead to rub it. A sign of stress. "At a certain point, I start to worry what part of him I lost when he left the first time. Between his trust and his faith, I'm not sure if losing you two would kill him or drive him to the point of insanity."

"Why would that happen? He's Kevin. He moves on fast," I remarked before realizing the mistake. Of course she knows he's Kevin. Duh.

"Not when this life is all he has left. You are his family. You are his home. You are the only things that are keeping him out of the Null Void. I owe his somewhat recovery to the Plumbers and to both of you. His life has come back and he wants to live again."

Way more than I was expecting to hear. And it only gets better.

"He loves you and that's why he's trying too hard when it's hopeless."

Yup. That hit me like Humongosaur throwing a Highbreed my way and me forgetting to dodge it. Burning tears stung the corners of my eyes. "He-"

"Never says much, but means every word he speaks." Her words were sad, but true, spoken with the honesty only a mother could use. "He teases because he likes to hear you laugh. He's annoying because he _wants_ to get to you. It's part of who he is now. It's the part we can't change anymore. The damage is done."

I knew what damage she was talking about. The abandonment. The illegal tech deals. The Null Void. His father. There'd been enough pain for him and this was only going to probably triple it.

"Now the only problem is-"

"How to keep him safe once we're gone." I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't see Kevin being weak or in pain, but… It suddenly started to kick in.

I would die. I would never see Kevin's smiling face again. I'd never hear another lame joke. I'd never be able to dream of him asking me out. I'd be gone for good. Ben wouldn't be there to keep him company. We'd all be screwed. I'd never see Julie play with Ship again. Actually, I'd never see Julie or Ship again. And my parents… what would they think when Kevin said he was trying to protect me from death by kidnapping me? Oh my god. This was it. This was the end. Everything I'd ever known was going to collapse beneath me as the world opened and swallowed me whole, taking my existence with it.

"It's not over, you know."

I turned to see Annie's pristine blue eyes on me again, her golden curls bouncing as the car hit bumps and turns. Her gaze was totally focused. "He's going to fight it all. Even though it's hopeless, he won't stop until it's finally done and over and he's either won or killed."

Kevin dying because of me and Ben… That was the worst thought I could possibly have.

Speaking of Ben, my eyes flicked to him. He was still totally out of it and distracted. I wondered what he was thinking. Like Kevin, with Ben, anything's possible.

* * *

**A/N: Since we all want to know what Ben's thinking, I was going to add it in the next chapter, but I decided not to so here are Ben's thoughts.**

_My name is Benjamin Kirby Tennyson._

_I am fifteen years old._

_I have brown hair and green eyes._

_I live in Bellwood._

_My parents are Sandra and Carl Tennyson._

_My grandparents are Max and Verdona Tennyson._

_My aunt and uncle are Frank and Lily Tennyson._

_Gwen and Ken are my cousins._

_My girlfriend is Julie._

_Kevin is one of my best friends._

_I play goalie for my soccer team._

_I wear the Omnitrix._

_I can turn into ten aliens._

_Usually, Gwen, Kevin, and I ride around fighting aliens all day._

_We have saved the universe before._

_Today, Kevin told me I'm going to die._

_I'm not sure what to think about that._

The same thoughts ran through my mind countless times, as if they were on replay.

* * *

**A/N: Back to Gwen! Just thought Ben's space out would be good to write. Carry on.**

**Gwen's POV**

"And what's your deal?" I asked the girl, my voice taking on an unintentional turn towards accusation. Oops.

Her gaze turned into a menacing glare. Little girls are pissed very easily. And Kevin's sister was not an exception to that. "I'm probably one of the most powerful ones right now. I'm the only negotiation tool he's got. I'll be used to save the universe if it's not already too late!"

Confused. Totally and utterly confused. Have I lost it? Nope. Not yet. Patience and my brain will soon turn to mush. Stupid mushy brain.

"Airabella, your brother won't use you like that. He's doing this to protect all of us. I was an idiot sixteen years ago. This is my fault, not his. It's not worth losing you for the universe," the driver pointed out sternly. Her eyes had also turned sharp and angry. Using the full name was a very, very bad sign. Especially with a name like that, you would not want to misbehave at all in public.

So anger isn't just Kevin. It's all of them. Glad it wasn't just me seeing this. Ben was there. Sort of. In his own sense. Face it, Gwen, you have no idea what you're talking about.

"So the whole universe isn't worth losing me?" she spat back. Now she was getting fierce and feisty. "I'm more important than the universe?! That's not even possible! This is technically your fault and Kevin's fault!"

"No, it's not," her mother said firmly as we turned onto another road. "It's only mine. This has nothing to do with Kevin. He was only dragged into this and-"

Annie's anger suddenly flared to dangerously high levels. Ones that I hadn't even seen in her brother before. "He fought and lost and brought all this on! I'm a victim in this, not him! He started it and now he'll suffer the consequences of his actions! He'll be alone in the world again, just like he was when he left! How can you think that he's going to be the miserable one?! I can't even be normal!"

She was right. An eight year old should be sleeping right now, dreaming about unicorns and being a princess. Everything should be pink and beautiful and there should be endless rainbows floating through the sky. But she was really just a girl stuck in the messed up life her brother had started. She couldn't escape it and she couldn't hide it. Kevin was a part of her and it was a part she couldn't cut off.

"Airabella!"

Universe? Back it up! No one said anything about that before! My thoughts flipped into reverse for a second. "What? The whole universe is at stake here?!"

The both just nodded solemnly, slowing down the conversation back to my pace again.

My brain was becoming just a little slower after, oh yeah, I was told I'm doomed to die. "Why didn't I know this before?!" I asked, the panic rising inside of my chest. The universe was a different story than just the few of us aliens on Earth.

The universe. Wow. Every alien in the history of aliens. No Azmuth. No Vilgax. No Ghostfreak. None of the guys we'd fought before would be there anymore. No more danger for the world. Just some normal criminal activity. That would be a change for once.

"You're the smart girl, right? I thought you'd get it by now." Kevin's mom looked over at me. A bit of curiosity was hidden there. Mostly about me. "The entire universe is going to be resting on his shoulders to save it if that's even possible." A flash of worry and pain crossed her gaze for barely a moment, but I caught it. "And if not, he'll be out for any kind of revenge that he can get. Or die trying."

I hate it when other people are right about those kinds of things. "Yeah," I breathed. "I just wish he wouldn't. It's not worth it."

My heart ached. He was responsible for the entire universe. I wouldn't be able to survive that if I failed. And he was destined to lose this battle. It was already over before it started. He kept going. He wouldn't stop. He would go insane over this. The universe was dead before they even knew it. Innocent lives ended so simply.

A voice knocked me out of my thoughts again. She sighed with grief. "You can tell him that yourself after he wakes up again which shouldn't be long because we're here. And the one who could've prevented it all is going to be destroyed too."

I let my focus dart off into the darkness, ignoring the second part for the time being. I could ask Kevin questions later.

Brick after brick stacked on top of each other with cement created an old abandoned warehouse-like building. An eerie look was around it. A concrete slab was what we were supposed to use as a parking lot sort of space. Dark clouds were overhead, threatening rain along with the wind that had picked up sharply since I had gotten in the car. A perfect night for it too. The flat roof reflected the darkness and cold feel of the place. The safe haven. So much for the feeling of safety. It was scary more than anything.

Then the lights on and in the building caught my eyes. Alien tech. The whole place was bugged with it. A few bits here and there on the fence that surrounded the building except in one place where it was ripped to shreds. Probably Kevin's doing.

Kevin.

I couldn't resist the temptation to look back at him. He was still in total bliss. Strands of shiny black hair were across his forehead. A tiny smile was on his face and his lips were moving soundlessly. There was no noise from him except his calm and quiet breathing. It was my kind of relaxing. Just his breathing was enough for me to calm down, take in a bit of air, and remember that I was going to die.

Yup, death was going to suck. There would be no Kevin there.

Reality set back in and my dreams of Kevin faded into the background. Focus again. Focus. Death. Issue. Universe. Bad, Gwen. Stay prepared. Stay in the real world.

The driver had already vanished out of the car.

And Kevin was up again. "No shoes on the seats," he murmured, his eyes sliding open once again. The beautiful brown color of his gaze was there again and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. He was fine. He was there. Nothing in the world could go wrong any more.

Oh but wait! I'm going to die. Awesome. Perfect. Great. Man, this would suck. "Kev, we're here," I told him, reaching back to put my hand on his. He was warm. I could feel something in his eyes. Hope. It was incredible to see. "Come on."

Why did it hurt so much to know that I'd be leaving him behind?

I held out my hand to pull him out of the car as Annie climbed off his lap. Ben was just coming out of his coma state. Kevin took my offering and gave me a small, heart-felt smile. He nearly stumbled when he tried to walk, but I held him up. I was his guardian in my last days.

My chest pounded as I struggled to find the air to fill my lungs. A wail of agony sank like a frozen stone in my throat and hit the pit of my stomach. I would miss him more than living itself.

Inside the safe haven was even more equipment. Concrete walls created the interior. It felt empty and soulless. Computers lined a wall or two, each with data and analysis scrolling across the screen. Doors led to more spaces with lights inside. Probably more alien tech. A switch was flipped and the fluorescent lights hanging above us instantly brightened the whole place. It was warmer with the machines running, creating a nice, warm heat in the space. As if Kevin being that close didn't make the blood rush to my face enough.

"Want to show me around?" I asked, giving Kevin my arm to lean on.

"No," he said quickly. Intensity reached his eyes, blazing like a dark fire. "I have to tell you everything."

* * *

**A/N: I have the next one planned precisely. It is going to be the full explanation of everything. It's pretty complicated for now and that's the way I like it. And I already have the chapter after that in my head and after that and after that. So my main goal for the moment is to keep those thoughts and stay focused on writing a lot. I'M WRITING A TON! AHHHH! lol. R&R! Give me honest stuff. **

**THANKS FOR READING! BIBI!!!**

**~Sky**

**P.S. Enjoy more suspense!**


	4. Words, Explaining, and So Much More

**A/N: must get bak on trak wit this…… finding it hard 2 remember wut I wrote b4 this… must go bak 2 read where I left off…… GOT IT!!! Here goes nothin'!**

**Oh, and if I start confusing normal Kevin with rock Kevin (he's still awesome either way), assume it's the ID mask and that I forgot to mention he put it on or took it off! It's a bit complicated to keep my thoughts straight sometimes. Especially with jumping between this and Car Arguments. So srry! I'm workin on it!**

* * *

Kevin looked over to Ben. "Call your gramps. He's gotta get the other Plumber's kids over here fast."

The brunette stared at his friend for a moment, blinking a few times. Not everyday Kevin got _that_ snappy. Or fell off a roof. It was definitely a bad day for him.

"I mean it, Tennyson! Now!"

Ben jumped to it, pulling out his phone and dialing away only to have it ring ten times before he hung up and tried again. And again. And again. Max wasn't picking up. The boy paced over to a wall on the other side of the room to lean against it and wait for his grandfather's voice to come on the other line.

"You don't have to be so snippy," Gwen muttered, still standing close to Kevin. She put a hand on his chest and leaned into him, making sure he got the point. She had to tell him soon before it was all over for them. "Can't you use gentle words instead, Mr. Pissy?"

"Not when your life is on the line."

His reply made enough sense to get her to back off his bad side. She just breathed for a moment. If you've been told you're going to die, it's easy to forget sometimes. Then mess around. Then be reminded later. The redhead could feel her depression coming on, along with Kevin's. Neither was quite ready to let go yet with so many things unsaid.

"This isn't a joke to me," he breathed, fighting back the tears that magnified the earthy brown colors in his eyes, wishing he could stay like that with her forever. Gwen leaning into him, his arms carefully snaking their way around her waist, so not to hurt her. Her warm heart beating against his chest, just hard enough so he could feel it when she was close enough. She was just… there weren't enough words for the dark teen to describe his moment. He only wanted to savor it and prayed that it would last him the rest of his life to be without her. She was too incredible to lose so soon.

She decided to fight him off. No one goes down without a fight, literal or not. "But most things are."

He sighed. "Can you just accept that this is going to be harder on me?" He was anxious to get this discussion to end now so he could focus more on saving the universe. He didn't want to fight with her. Not when she would leave him forever in possibly the next second. Or hour. Or day. Or week. It was still unpredictable.

"I'm the one dying!" she pointed out. Fighting it was good. It got Kevin to talk more.

"But I'm the one that's stuck living without you for what'll feel like an eternity."

Those were probably the most emotional words he had ever said in forever. Even though there were only fifteen words. It was a start. A start that would end as soon as it began. He would be hurt, broken, slaughtered, destroyed, pummeled, and worst of all, losing everything he'd ever loved and wanted in life. She couldn't believe he'd said something so straightforward and easy.

"Have you ever noticed that I babble like a total idiot when I'm tired?"

Dead stop. Yep, that was it. He'd ruined the moment by saying more than necessary. Gwen closed her eyes wanting to scream at him a thousand words that wouldn't make things any better for either of them. Or the rest of the universe. Kevin was just absolutely, positively impossible to figure out. She could only shake her head and pull away from him. "Whatever."

"Gwen-" He was clueless to what he'd done wrong this time. It was always something with her. Anything to be mad at him.

"Save it," she replied, getting ready to focus on the task at hand again. "Let's just see what Ben's got."

He groaned. So close, but yet so far. Gwen was constantly begging, almost pleading for him sometimes, just for a date. One bad choice of words and it all starts again! She was always being pushy and angsty and pissy. _Women are so hard_, Kevin thought. _Stick to the car and alien tech. Maybe an eternity won't be too awful._

Yeah, right. That hope was dropped into a bottomless abyss of darkness. An eternity without Gwen would be his misery. And the thought that he caused it would drive him to Crazy Town where he would become Mayor and marry George Washington's wife. Whoever she was. There. His future was right in front of him. Only one concern was left to stand. Would his car cross over to Crazy Town too?

"Grandpa's not picking up," Ben answered after his cousin had come over, followed closely by Kevin, who was still looking pale and mad at someone. His chances were to stay out of the way and duck if his friend got vicious. "I've called three or four times. I lost count."

"I'm pretty sure Annie can even count higher than you, Benji." Kevin's smart remark pushed away all the thoughts he was still having about Gwen and his idiocy. He was slowly beginning to feel like himself again. Without sleep and rest and a specific lack of coffee was a bit of a killjoy to that. "Actually, I'm pretty sure a majority of the planet can count higher than you."

Gwen glared over her shoulder. She wanted to say something right back to lash her anger out at someone and she bit it back for a moment. _But I bet anyone can count higher than you._ And the words came out like a pack of starved wolves before she could stop them. And then the regret and guilt came to wash over her, harder than before. _Dumb dumb dumb._ Too bad those didn't come out or he'd know how bad she felt.

Kevin didn't feel hurt. He was too numb with what had happened before. He stood there for a second and closed his eyes. Then the words began to sink in and dig a hole in his heart. Not exactly his fault. School wasn't an option when you're a street rat, only trying to live while you're dying on the inside. "Sorry. No education in the Null Void if you remember correctly," he barked fiercely, wanting to bite it back once he said it. It was too late because he was already into his words and wasn't about to stop. "Bet you didn't know that when you threw me in there." He stalked away, into the black shadows that still clung to certain corners of the warehouse before ducking into a room.

"What did I miss?!" Ben asked, staring at Gwen, his eyes a bit disgusted with her. He'd been stifling the remarks since the ex-con joined the team. And Gwen could just give him the bombs whenever she decided? "Did you guys fight _again_?!"

She had to gulp down the emotions that were overwhelming her. "We can get to him in a second. He said we have to get Grandpa here."

"Guys," Kevin's mom called from across the room. She was standing in the frame of the doorway, looking out into the night at something. Her gaze flickered back to the cousins for an instant. "There's an RV outside. Some old guy's getting out."

"Um… He didn't pick up for me…" Ben said softly. "Did anyone else call him?"

Then Max was at the door, panting. His Hawaiian shirt was rumpled. All the Plumber's kids stood behind him, ready for action. "Kevin… called…" He was breathing out the words slowly, one at a time. "…what's…happening?"

"But he told me to call…" Ben whimpered, suddenly feeling very unimportant to the whole new issue of 'Let's Save The Universe Again!'

Gwen only looked back into the shadows where the dark teen had disappeared. A tug on her heart told her to go after him and make up for what she'd done. The words weren't just a joke. She was dead serious and mad when she'd spoken, but yet they'd hurt him in more ways than one. That was the hard part about having Kevin around. Watching the words they used. A poke at his Null Void experiences and he'd drop you off in the middle of nowhere without a second thought about it. And she'd dug deeper than that. She'd gone into his education issues. She'd gone into his Null Void problems. And further. She'd dug herself into the pit against his family for abandoning him. That was how deeply set she'd put herself. With Kevin, that pit is one with no return.

Max was staring at them for a minute, the confusion flashing across his face in clear colors. "So where is he and what's the problem?" Manny asked with irritation, stepping from behind the old man.

"Long story," Annie said, coming out of the darkness. She had her own way of dealing things and with her brother out of the way, it was much, much easier. "In a shorter sense of things, the entire universe is screwed except for the human race. And me and Kevin and my mom." She deliberately took out the 'our' and put in 'my' in that last part. Her method of working was entirely different. Simple, sweet, jump to the point and don't look back at the past.

Cooper was the next one in the door. "Well that sure sounds like a lot of fun," he snorted, pushing past Manny and Max and further into the main room.

A/N: in the original series, was I the only one who couldn't tell whether Cooper was a guy or a girl? Skinny, long blonde hair, utterly annoying, and PURPLE jersey? I think the hair and the purple threw me off… Just thought I'd throw that out there bcuz I wanted to kno if I was the only one!! PLZ tell me cuz I feel like I'm an idiot for not seeing it the first time… and I did not know he liked Gwen or it would've been wayyyyy more obvious!!

Ben and Gwen pulled Max out of the way so the rest of the rookie team could come inside. They filed in like troops.

"We have to save the universe _again_?" Max asked, once he had recovered a bit. The run from the Rustbucket to the building had seemed necessary at one point and now seemed meaningless.

"Apparently," Ben sighed. His eyes moved to where Kevin had disappeared. "And this time, we probably won't get to help."

This caught the old Plumber off guard. "Why not?" he asked quietly, still aware of the small girl and woman standing in the room that he hadn't noticed until that moment.

Gwen jumped in. "We'll be dead."

Kevin took this moment to come out, a coffee mug in hand. Caffeine was definitely on the list of must-haves in Crazy Town without Gwen. Life would definitely suck without her _and_ coffee. "When did you guys get here?"

"You called. Remember?" Max asked.

Definitely a very bad day. Kevin racked his brain a bit for an answer. The answer came up as a blank memory, beginning with the roof incident that was only an hour ago or less. And before that, there was something about Gwen's room. It was all a fuzzy blur now. "Um… Not exactly, but okay." His voice was wary at the least. Very confused. And a pinch of annoyed. "So everyone grab a chair and sit. I can explain."

The new team all did as he said, putting them in a demented half-circle around him. Then they waited for him to take the lead and say why the heck they were up in the middle of the night and not fighting something yet.

He had to breath for a second before starting. "There's a bomb. It's going to destroy anything and anyone with alien powers. It'll destroy you all."

Their faces became shocked except for five. His own, Ben, Gwen, and his family.

"I have the blueprints for it, but it's too far away to get to. And the plus factor is that it's indestructible without annihilating it completely. So I set up this entire warehouse with tech and it should protect us from the bomb's effects. But odds are, it won't and you'll all be dead soon. Sorry, but I can't work miracles today." _Especially with only twenty minutes of sleep in a car…_

Most of them were panicking at that point. Faces turned. Tears welled up in eyes. Few slid down cheeks. Except for the Tennyson cousins and the three in the room who had known for days. Kevin, Annie, and their mom.

His face twisted into a grimace when he saw that they were all just traumatized by the news. Panic, fear, and distress didn't settle well with him. "We can only hope now. And that's not usually enough to fight off explosions stretching throughout the universe."

"The universe?" Max spoke up, his voice choking on the thought. There was a panic in his eyes. It hit Kevin. Verdona… Even she would die from this… Why was the world so cruel? He could only nod in response.

"Can you explain it again?" Helen asked. "Like, more specific."

Puzzled, Kevin asked, "Such as?" Not like 'more specific' was a great question. It wasn't even a question to begin with.

"Why are you immune?"

He paused and thought over a response before replying, "Because I have to stay alive. My DNA is in it and my powers will be sucked away so I'll be human again, but I won't be terminated." That was a good enough answer for her, right?

It was, but Helen went on, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. "Who built it and why did they decide to keep you alive and no one else?"

This was one thing he was hoping to avoid. Avoid very carefully, like stepping around the giant canyon that's threatening to swallow you whole. He couldn't help it now. It was out there and now he had to answer it. Taking a second, he closed his eyes, thinking back to the good days. Mr. Smoothie. Hanging out with Gwen. Kicking Michael Morningstar/Darkstar's butt. Answer time. He breathed again and replied three words. "My step dad."

They all stared at him at that.

Gwen put it together. The conversation in the car with Annie and Kevin's mom. Everything they'd mentioned finally made sense. She realized it and wanted to go and give her friend a big hug to help him remember what it was like to be normal. To be with her. To be happy, in a Kevin way.

"_You_ caused this?" Manny roared, jumping up out of his chair and knocking it forwards. He had been sitting in it backwards. His expression became ferocious. "_You're _the one who's going to kill us?"

"Guys-" Kevin started, keeping his tone calming and hoping it would help, but Manny wasn't going to stop. He grabbed the chair in front of him with his two top arms and threw it over his head. It hurtled towards the dark teen.

A pink-ish violet shield of mana appeared just in time to keep him safe from harm. The chair smashed against it into a million pieces.

Kevin looked to Gwen and gave her a grateful look. He hoped that she knew she was his savior in more ways than one. The one that kept him out of trouble and on occasions, decided to save his life.

Then the redhead wrapped the Fourarms in a rope of mana, holding him still and silenced. And yet he struggled against her, but still couldn't break free.

Helen watched him with disgust. "And why did he build it?"

"You got me," Kevin answered softly, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I'm his half alien step son that he hates. So you ask him for me. Let me know if he wants me to kill myself this time or not. And if he doesn't, thank him because I don't want to die."

Ben hadn't known Kevin's family issues were that bad. He'd assumed it was the basics. Fights, grounding, chores, mouthing off. Normal stuff. Not death threats and constant violence. His eyes widened a little when the understanding kicked in. Life at home must really suck for him.

"So why is he keeping you alive?" The XLR8 was full of questions.

Kevin felt the need to shove her blue head down a toilet to make her shut up. It was already hard to keep the answers coming without his voice choking or breaking. "To keep my mom and his real daughter around." His eyes shifted to Annie and his mother in a corner of the room, watching him. The young girl's eyes were full of anger. The woman's, pride. So contradictory it made the dark teen's head swim under a thousand gallons of water. "He kills me, he loses their trust."

"But they know about the universe thing…" No duh. Point out the obvious, Benji.

Kevin rolled his eyes, praying this would all be over with soon so he could curl up in another room and let the black colors surround him so he could fit into the darkness. "Brain-wash them. But avoid it on me because no one will believe me. I'll be sent to a loony bin somewhere if I talk about it. I can't kill him because I'll lose the trust of my family. Either way, I know, he knows, and only you guys know. And I can't do a thing about it." His tone had dropped into one of dejection.

This sent everyone into a silence. No more questions were asked.

_Now, coffee. And a lot of it._ He retreated to the back room once again, knowing this was the eye of the storm. The calm moment that he could keep for a second before it vanished again and he was thrown into the turmoil to live as a delinquent again.

That was the summary of his time with Ben and Gwen. As a team, he was the good guy for once. He was actually helping to achieve something. Now that was ending. The other side of the hurricane that was his life would kick back up again in a moment. Back to the illegal side to skim through with barely enough money to live on. Hardly any food, not enough light in the garage to fix the car, or maybe not enough to keep the car…

The light in the back flickered on and he got himself another mug of coffee. Caffeine had become his addiction in the past week. It was all that kept him awake and working towards the ultimate goal. He was stuck in a rut of lost hope and there was obviously no way out of that. Why not get a little high on coffee? What could it hurt?

He looked up to see a splash of red hair and sparkling green eyes staring at him from across the room with a bit of anger and sadness. Then she started talking quickly, wanting to get the words out before he accused her of more. "Kevin, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and I wasn't trying to say that. I didn't mean to."

"I didn't mean to be a criminal either. It just came to me. A natural instinct to live. A natural instinct to die. Same old, same old, Gwen. There's no difference anymore."

She didn't get it at first. It struck after a second. He was forgiving her in his own way of confusing her with more words that she didn't understand and he probably didn't get it much either- Her thoughts froze when it felt like the entire room was spinning. _Over thinking things,_ she reminded herself. _Take a breath. He's only Kevin, not some kind of hotshot superstar. But of course he thinks he is._ Gwen's gaze swept to him.

Tired. Alone. Nervous. Anxious. Scared. His face was partially hidden, but she could read the rest of his body language so clearly. Kevin was tense and slumped over in his chair, still trying to keep awake after days without sleep. Dark circles were dug around his eyes. The darkness was swept up behind him like a black raven's wing, ready to hide his form in a moment's notice. Haunted. That was how he looked. Haunted and hollow. And very, very alone.

He was looking her over too. Worried. Disappointed. Fearful. Depressed. Scared. She was his open book. The only thing he probably could read, but he'd never admit to that. Her hair was that fiery auburn color that he wanted to see every day. The emerald green of her eyes now compared to the electric color that they were when she was younger. Then her smile… It struck him into stupor before and at that moment he would've died for it and a laugh from her. "Be sorry," he replied, giving into her. "That won't change what's going on. We'll never get a chance anymore and it's my fault. You don't have a future anymore. None of you do. All those aliens out there, they get to exist for only a little while longer before their lives are gone forever. I am one of the last survivors of this mess. One of the few that can make it, but there's no hope of me changing this because without you and Ben, I'm just another guy with a car doing illegal stuff."

Gwen wanted to comfort him, but she knew how that had always gone in the past. Pushing her further away. Digging that grave just a little deeper, as if it weren't a mile down already. And she still went forward with it. He loved her when she was sweet _and_ when she was being a pissy jerk. Worst part was that she knew it. It gave her the edge to go on a little further. She took a few steps closer so she was only inches from him. "You are so much more," she breathed, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

There was no future, but there was a present and a past and those couldn't be changed because Gwen was kissing Kevin and he was soaking it all in. Every few moments, he had to remind himself to drink in the air, but Gwen… No time for air. Air can come later. More Gwen. More Gwen. He put his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her harder against him. His other arm snaked around her waist. This would last and he would remember it forever.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel Kevin's warmth against her and the blood pulsing through his veins. He was there. He was with her. They were together. It was all she could think about. Her head was swarmed with the new information, but there would be time to process it later.

* * *

**A/N: Any questions about the bomb and other stuff that I missed, send them in as a review. I won't post another chapter until I get, like, ten reviews or something. Not all have to be questions or the trivia answer that you'll read in a minute, but I only got 1 review for 'Universal' and that was a little disappointing. I wrote that chapter TWICE! so that's that. Take it or leave it. I really don't care, but I'll be really mad if I can't continue this bcuz u guys decided to quit on me. The angsty parts are coming too and those'll be the best! Now you know what it is. No more waiting or anything. But thanks to the ppl who have been reviewing throughout and to the ones who just put it up whenev.**

**And a trivia thing: A member of the rookie alien force team doesn't have alien powers. Who? (Hint: It's not Max) **

**Winner gets... idk. Probably nothing, but maybe I'll post whatever they want in the next chapter or put up another trivia that they pick. idk. they can choose something within my limitations of power.**

**Just put that for the heck of things and because I wanted to make sure I wasn't wrong. Again, answer in reviews. It's important for later in a sense of things. Lol. Bi nao!**

**Thanks for the help!**

**~Sky**

**P.S. this is the second longest story i have written. 'Theft' in Car Arguments is beating it by, like, less than ten words i think. so be thankful this took me half a day. 'Theft' took three days with full editing and all.**


	5. Really Happening

**A/N: I figured I wouldn't get the ten reviews I hoped for, but I thought I'd at least get more than four… oh well. I'll get to the angsty part. This could be a little short… next one will be longer.**

**Srry I been out for a lil while. Im used 2 updates everyday, but I got finals to study for and sum makeup tests and then extra work on top of it and sum frends breathing down my neck, the stories will be harder to get up. Enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: YES! I OWN IT! OF COURSE! Jk jk. Don't own Ben 10. Own my idea though. And Annie.**

**Kevin's POV(enjoy. He's easier to write than Gwen. May b a lil OOC until the end)**

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I pulled myself from her. "Well, that was a little…different." I stared, trying to forget how awkward this sudden silence was.

The redhead was blushing madly. "Yeah," she agreed, keeping quiet now. I didn't want her to be quiet. I wanted her to be Gwen. I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted her to scream at me. I wanted her to get mad and throw a little hissy fit just to have me calm her down and tell her to blame it on Ben for some stupid reason. I wanted Gwen. I would always want her. Forever.

My eyes searched her expression for answers. There were none to be found. I'd have to ask. "Are you ready to die?" I asked, not wanting to listen to my own voice any longer when Gwen's would be taken away from me at any second.

"Yes."

Her response didn't strike me as strange. She always found a way to surprise me. After all, she _is _Gwen. "Why?"

"Because I know you'll be beside me. That's all I need."

I wasn't the guy to cry much, but this tugged on my heart and I wanted to cry into Gwen and show her how bad my life would be when she was gone. I resisted it. It wasn't a good time. "Are you scared?"

"No." The girl was so simple and basic. She kept standing right over me, her face so close I could smell the shampoo she used. Weird… I'd have to remember that for future reference. Oh wait. What future reference? There is no future for us.

Of course, the computers chose that moment to ruin my moment. Jeez. I hate that. They all went berserk, exploding with the alarms I'd pre-programmed in as a warning sign. It was the only one that would wake me up if I'd fallen asleep: loud, obnoxious, and lots of flashing red lights. Sounds like a cop car, I know, but how else would it get me up?

Gwen pulled further away, her face twisted in confusion and she put her hands over her ears to try and block out the sound. It didn't work. I know because I tried it when I set the alarms. "What's that?!" she yelled over the siren sounds.

I felt the blood drain from my face as the reality really set in.

This was it. This was the end. This was what I'd built this whole safe house for.

"Kevin?!" Gwen screamed.

"I'm gonna turn it off!" I called as I left the backroom and headed to the main computer station on the other side of the main warehouse. "Come on!" I heard her footsteps behind me as she rushed to catch up. Not like it mattered anyways.

Because this was really happening.

Everyone else was standing there, trying to drown out the noise, doing the same thing as Gwen. Again, it doesn't work!

I collapsed in a chair and punched the code in to turn of the alarm. Literally, punched. The lights shut off and the wailing sound drowned itself out to let the entire warehouse fall back into the depressing silence.

All eyes fell to me and I could tell they were exploding with questions.

This was really happening.

"What was that?" Gwen asked, her voice still low as she sat on the desk in front of me. She was looking at me, her lips forming a straight line as she tried to keep her emotions in control.

I was trying to keep mine hidden. No one would understand. "You know what it was," I breathed. "They all do."

"It's the end."

I could only nod and run my fingers through my hair. I felt like a wreck. I must've looked like a wreck. It was all so insane. I didn't want to believe it. "Gwen, I'm sorry."

Her eyes softened and I felt her delicate fingers on my chin, pulling my face up to look at her. "It's not your fault."

"It always seems to end up that way."

"Kev…" She got silent. "It's not-"

My anger was heating up in my chest. "It _is_ my fault, Gwen!" I yelled, shooting up right and out of the chair. "If I wasn't born, she wouldn't have had to marry him! She wouldn't have needed to raise me! I wouldn't have fought him! I wouldn't have lost! He wouldn't have built this bomb! You wouldn't know me and no one would be in this mess!"

Oh my god. I just yelled at Gwen. This was really happening.

The tears welled up in her emerald orbs and she was staring at me, hurt and shocked.

"I'm so sorry," I started, hoping it would be enough and listening to my own voice choke. The rest of my apology was easily set, but I hadn't been watching the countdown on the computer screen. Until it turned off and the entire room was plunged into a sickening darkness.

It's not hard to figure out what did that.

Lights came from the sky and broke through the roof, gripping each of us in beams of pale blue coloring and pulling us off the ground.

This searing pain tugged at my chest and I could feel my energy being drained and sucked from my body, reminding me of Morningstar all over again. I fought back the screams of agony, hoping it'd all be over soon. Flames of a thousand fires seemed to burn my skin, inside and out. I didn't fight. I didn't struggle. I let myself be warped into my misery. The world without my friends. The world without Gwen.

Something gave. My power was gone and I could feel it. It was a piece of me that was taken away and it was like my heart had been ripped out. My powers were one of two things I had left to enjoy in life.

And it ended as soon as it had begun, but it still felt like forever.

The floor was cold and solid as I crashed against it, my head hitting harder than I had thought it would and I was struck with an instant headache. My vision blurred for a second until I could look around and see everyone else, still trapped in their own torture chambers that I had escaped from. Because I had given in.

Almost the entire rookie team was suspended along with my own team and my family.

Ben was struggling and writhing, but it wouldn't make a difference. Manny was yelling and I tuned him out. Helen and Alan were gone. I didn't want to know where. I figured it couldn't be good. My mom and Annie were on the ground, sitting against each other, their eyes wide and stunned.

My gaze found Gwen, floating in her beam like a ghostly angel of death, red hair floating like a halo around her head. Her eyes were towards the sky and I couldn't see her expression, but I imagined it to look pained as she fought it. She was always a fighter. She always would be, even when she was gone.

I found tears in my eyes and tried to hold them back, knowing I couldn't help her. I couldn't save her. If I interfered, I'd die, plain and simple, suffering that pain all over again. And she'd die too. What was the point of risking my death if there was a chance of me living and saving her?

Then I heard her murmuring chants, trying to backlog it and maybe make it stop. I couldn't tell. I'm not a translator.

It was a lack of focus for just long enough to let the beam take her, her body and life dissolving into pink mana dust above the ground and being taken up into the sky again. Gone. Gwen was gone. The one person…

Manny was next and he vanished in thin air with red dust and Ben disappeared in a wisp of green flecks, the color of the Omnitrix. They were all gone. I was alone. One of the few survivors of a universal tragedy.

Cooper and Max were standing in a corner, their eyes struck with shock and sorrow. They would join me in this. We'd fight it. That was that.

The blue dome that had taken up the space in the sky above disappeared, fading into the horizon.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. I couldn't cry. I could only sit there and wonder what I did wrong to deserve this kind of torment.

Yeah. That was it. I was _born_.

Lying on the floor, I realized a few things.

1) I didn't want to live anymore.

2) The world would suck more than I thought it would without Ben to bother me.

3) I was _in love_ with Gwen.

The lights kicked back on and all my computers buzzed and hummed back to life, the brightness stinging.

After a few seconds of readjustment, we all sat there, staring at the scene before us.

I kept blinking, hoping that this was some kind of nightmare. And it must've looked like I was having some kind of fit because I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Max. "Kevin, are you alright?"

Was I? I could still drink in air. I was still capable of thought. My only response to him was a slight nod.

He offered me a hand to pull me up and I took it. Lucky me, I could still stand. That was a bonus.

Gwen. Gwen was still gone. I missed her. Her red hair, her gorgeous eyes, her sweet smile-

I crashed into the nearest chair and Cooper was beside me in less than a second, his waterworks spilling over loudly. Of course, he would cry.

Max's face was hard as stone, but his old eyes told all. They were broken. He was tired and just lost his grandkids and his wife who he hadn't seen in a while probably. I could relate. I'd let an entire universe of aliens die.

Annie and my mom were out cold against a wall, probably not able to take what had happened. I'd have to get them home or _he_ would come for them. That could wait a little while.

"So now what?"

I looked over to Cooper whose voice had broken when he spoke. "I mean, it's not like we've got anything to live for now," he continued hopelessly.

He was wrong. I was ready to argue. "We've got everything to live for."

Yeah, I got a couple of weird looks after that.

"We've got enough of a team. We can take care of this and I got some friends that aren't alien who can help us out. There are a few weapons I can find so you can throw together a suit and we can go after him," I said, trying to sound confident.

No lie. I totally had a plan. That was if being a backstabbing traitor didn't throw me into doghouse… But I had one other person who would help me. I was hoping…

"Really?" Max asked, clearly analyzing me like the criminal he remembered me as.

"You think I'm about to let them down without fighting it?" I nearly snarling. "They were my family too!"

"Kevin, we're useless. Let it go."

Control. Control. I let my breathing even out after a few seconds before replying. "I can stop this. We've still got Cooper, but I have to lead. We'll need a team because it's not exactly easy to get through the _step_."

The old man rolled his eyes. "Alright, say I agree and let you two go off, who do you plan to recruit for this?"

Like Ben said about that war. "Simple."

I gave a short explanation to them both who quickly agreed if I could pull it off. Which could take a while. But I could build a dimensional portal to the Null Void, easy. Now finding the equipment floating around in space was a totally different story. I had no suppliers or anything.

"Well, Helen and Manny still had the Null Void Projector." Max was reading my thoughts. Weird...

A grin was irresistible for me. "The museum piece."

"They said you liked calling it that…" Max chuckled. He had to be in a better mood, knowing there was hope. A faint one, but a hope.

I was hoping he knew where it was. "So…"

He nodded. "It was in that warehouse that they left it."

"Good," I replied, remembering where that was in a heartbeat. "Coop and I can head out there."

"And them?" His head tilted to my mom and Annie who were still against the wall.

I forced a tiny smile. It was still hard to know that Gwen was gone. "Can you do me a quick favor?"

"Got it." He didn't question. He didn't argue. He just knew. That was one thing I liked about Max. That and he had a LOT of weapons stashed in places I'd never even look. "And you can borrow some of my stuff since you'll need it."

Mindreader. I'm convinced.

I snatched my keys off the table, kissing my sister and mother goodbye. Max would tell them I disappeared with the rest. It would make a convincing story. They could tell _him_ anything and no one would know I was alive except a few seldom people. I would be a living ghost.

Cooper climbed into the passenger seat. "Are you sure about this? How do you know your plan's going to work?"

"I don't." Truth.

My mind was stuck on Gwen as me and Coop rolled along in the silence. He wasn't about to bother me and I wasn't about to bother him.

In her last moments, I'd yelled at Gwen. If this didn't go down well, I'd never live it down. She'd died thinking I was mad at her and I'd do anything to take those moments back.

The girl was stuck in my head like a bad sugary pop song. Her eyes were overwhelming, staring at me with a glassy green look. I could almost feel her presence in the air, like she was really there. Too bad she wasn't.

Because it had really happened.

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**A/N: a little shorter than I would've liked, but I'm pretty sure you can't guess who he's got in mind for recruits. Reviews shall power this! Restore it to its former glory! Yeah, just leave sum comments. Lol.**

**~Sky**


	6. Recruiting

**A/N: Who does Kevin have in mind? I already know. But you don't. So let us find out…**

**Disclaimer: my idea. But… I don't own Ben 10. ugh. I want to own it though…**

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**Cooper's POV**

Kevin slid into the driver's seat, a fierce look on his face. This was his mission. His fault. I didn't see why. No one could've prevented it. I started to climb into the passenger seat, but he let out a gutteral growl and I fell into the backseat instead. Upsetting Kevin was not a good idea. "So who do you plan on recruiting?" I asked, sounding stupid.

"A couple of old friends." His reply was as grim as his expression.

"Aliens?"

"Nope." Then his gaze caught me in the rearview mirror. "Do you think I'm stupid or something?" he snarled.

I pressed myself into the leather. "Kevin, you've got to let this go for now."

"I can't," he murmured. "Just like I can't change back. I can't do anything, Coop. I'm so freaking useless!" His fist slammed down on the dashboard, leaving a dent. The anger was seething from him.

He was my friend. Sure, we fought over Gwen, but he was still my friend. "You're not."

"I am. I'm nothing. I wish I hadn't lived through this. I wish I was the one dead instead of Gwen. She had so much more to live for." His eyes were on the road, focused and determined. "I should've died."

"We'll save her. That's what counts." I sounded so much more optimistic than I felt. The entire universe had come crashing down around us and this is what had happened.

There was a grave silence. "Cooper, we can't do this."

"I'm the nerd, you're the bad boy. Alone, we're nothing. Together, we're an unstoppable tag team and we'll kill anything that stops us from getting them back. You've got to trust me." I had to keep him on the page of the living. His mind was still caught up in Gwen. I didn't blame him. What they had was real. I only dreamed. "You being dead won't save her."

His knuckles turned white and I thought I heard the steering wheel snap beneath his grip. "We've got to pick up Julie. Tell her what happened. She needs to know."

I recollected my thoughts. "Ben's girlfriend? She's-"

"A good friend and a willing teammate," he finished angrily. "She doesn't have powers. She's alive. That's one thing I like about the girl." He was bent on this. "She's good at fighting if I give her a weapon. In action, she'll be just as good a fighter as you'll ever be."

Ouch. I felt a little sting at that. "And who else?"

"Charmcaster."

"Wha?!" I asked, feeling my eyes pulse out of their sockets. I knew her. I'd fought her. And apparently, Kevin had too. But how? Why? She didn't have powers, that much was good. She was alive. I guess the desperation of this was deeper for him than I'd realized. We did need everyone we could get.

"Cooper, we need her. I betrayed her more than once, but if she wants her revenge on Gwen, Gwen needs to be alive first. Charmcaster will side with us."

I wished I could read his mind. He was shaking with the tension of this. "You're going to lead?"

"This is my fault. I need to set it right again." He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, an obvious sign of his stress. "I- I won't forgive myself if this doesn't work. I need her."

"And Ben," I added.

He gave a little shrug. "Him, I can live without."

I rolled my eyes. At least he was going back to being himself again. "So where's the blueprints to this thing? I can start deciphering them while we get to the Null Void projector. That way I can take it out faster once we find the actual machine that started all this."

Kevin reached down and pulled a sheet of yellowed paper from under his seat. "Here." He handed it to me.

I unfolded it and began analyzing.

The car halted about twenty minutes later outside of a house in the suburbs of Bellwood. "Julie's house," Kevin said softly just as his phone rang.

There was sobbing on the other end of the line from a voice that sounded distinctly girl-like. "Jules," he muttered. "I'm right outside. Where's your window so I can climb in?"

**Julie's POV**

My heart leapt when his dark form came through my window. At first I was terrified that it wasn't him. "Kevin, they took Ship!" I cried, feeling the warm tears flowing down my face. "Who was it?!"

His face was cold as ice. I thought it was just him. I learned it wasn't.

A light had come through the roof, not destroying anything, but just absorbing him. It seared my skin and I'd pulled away. Ship writhed for a few seconds in the light before turning to tiny dust particles and floating to the sky. It had only happened about a half an hour earlier. At first I thought it was just him and his cute little disappearing act. But then I searched my room and then looked outside my window and he wasn't there. I'd cried.

Kevin was still silent. He was looking at me, his eyes darker than normal. "Julie," he murmured, voice soft and tentative.

That was a side of him I never thought I'd see. The next words struck me hard and cold.

"He's gone."

An empty wind swept through my heart, making it seem like a barren wasteland of nothing. Ship. My pet. Gone. I collapsed backwards onto my bed, mind and soul aching for my Ship. He couldn't be gone.

"They all are."

I laid there for a few minutes, absorbing the first bit of information, trying to take it without inducing more tears. Finally, I could sit up again and look Kevin straight in the eye. His onyx stare was glazed over with this indescribable pain and loss. It tugged on my heart and I felt the instinctive need to hug him. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

His face went pale and I thought he was going to drop to the floor right there. I wouldn't be able to help him if that had happened. I was lucky that it didn't. He caught himself on my desk.

"Kevin?"

Gaze snapping up to meet mine, Kevin took a deep breath. "They're all dead."

"Who?"

He was shaking with the effort of standing. I reached out to him and his head snapped away so he wouldn't even look at me. "Julie, it's my fault."

"What happened?"

"Ben… Gwen… they're dead."

This got my throat to close up and I couldn't find air. I couldn't breathe. He was serious. He couldn't keep this up as a joke. He wouldn't do that. Not about Gwen. I had to search for the part of my brain that controlled my voice. It was hard to find with that new information being absorbed. "Wha-"

"It's my fault." He was hurt deeper than I could ever feel. The fury and depression was coming off of him in vicious waves.

I jumped up off my bed. "What happened, Kevin?" I hissed, coming an inch away from his face. I would've been much more threatening if I was taller than him…

He broke eye contact. "My step-dad created a bomb that destroyed anything with alien powers. The entire universe… is… dead." The dark teen was choking over his words.

"We're going to fix it," a boy said, struggling to climb through the window. I hadn't seen him before. He looked up and his dazzling blue eyes met mine. "Hey, Julie," he said softly. "Sorry for kind of busting in like this, but I'm assuming Kevin already told you about our little situation and how we now have to go attack the source of the problem."

My vision became fixed on him. "Kevin, I swear to God, you had better fix this."

A small tear trail was down his cheek. "Julie, you don't know how many times I've told myself that."

He was dead serious.

The three of us clamored out my window and left for a warehouse on the other side of Bellwood. All we had to do was get Charmcaster. And from what I'd heard about her, that was probably not going to be easy.

**Kevin's POV**

I touched the projector. "Coop, you think you can get this thing running?" I asked. I could get it running simply, but he was the one going to stay on the outside to keep Julie safe. That was my main priority. Julie really needed to be okay after all this. She needed Ben and Ship back.

My friend nodded slightly. He raised his arms and the machine hummed to life, the red swirled vortex opening and the force, pulling me in. "Cooper!" I called to him over the whipping, sucking wind. "Leave it open and fight off anything that comes out that's not me!"

Julie was standing beside Cooper, a piece of alien tech I'd given her in one hand and in the other, a tennis racket. Just in case, right? Right. Convincing myself seemed to work best.

With a thumbs up from Cooper, I jumped in. The entire universe was depending on this. We needed Charmcaster.

**A/N: okay, I know this one was shorter, but I tried really hard and it was **_**not**_** easy to keep this one up. Especially with the lack of reviews! Come on people! I put my heart and soul into this one! At least give me a lil bit of credit! It **_**will**_** get better.**

**Next Chappie: KEVIN VERSUS CHARMCASTER!!!!**

**~Sky**


	7. A Touch of Charm

**A/N: wish this one luck. I'm not good at writing fight scenes… so just imagine it being much, much more intense. Sorry. Crap… halfway through the story, I realize that his powers are gone… aw shizzz…… hopefully i fixed it all!**

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**Charmcaster's POV**

Diving in, I caught his eye, the first thing he saw was me and only me. I pulled my hair back up into a ponytail. "Levin?" I asked. Then I remembered. "Levin." He turned to stare straight at me, eye dark. My face heated up, turning red with fury. "Levin!"

"Yeah, Charmy, get your filthy butt over here so I can kick it and bring you back."

That got me to freeze.

He conned me. He tricked me. He and Gwendolyn threw me in the Null Void. I was furious. I was in an ocean of anger. I would've killed him if I could've. But I was stuck, trapped. "Charmy?" I retorted. "Levin, I wouldn't be saying that if I were you. I kicked all three of your butts all over the place. And Gwen isn't here to save you this time."

There was a flicker of emotion across his eyes. Madness. Depression. I wasn't the one to read between the lines. I shot the magic out, hitting him square in the neck. Across his putrid face ran an expression I never thought I'd see on him. Regret.

"So what's your damage?" I called, making sure the magic kept swirling around my hands. Gwen had taken my powers, but I had regained them quickly. With some rest and time. "You come back to get me good? Or is this just a little visit so you can fight me with Gwen and Ben when you drag me back to Earth? Because, honestly, I think I like it here better!" I lashed out at him again.

He was thrown back a yard or two, kicking up dust as he skidded, falling to his knees. Then his head whipped up to meet my eyes. "Charmcaster, I want this to go down easy. Neither of us needs to be hurt."

There was something that made me pause. His desperation? Maybe. I just had to stop and take a second look at him.

Then I remembered how he'd lied. He'd stabbed me in the back. He was traitorous scum. He didn't deserve to live. I gave him another beating, whipped him with my magical storm of winds and strength.

Kevin looked up at me, face twisted. Not anger that I could detect there. "Charmcaster, just let this go for now."

"Really?" I taunted, keeping that glow surrounding my fists. Releasing this anger… it was good. Better than I'd felt in weeks. Strong. In control. Dangerous. "I don't think so." The dull windy air of the Null Void threw my ivory hair in my face.

I pushed it behind my ear to find Kevin looming over me, one fist poised to pound my face in at any second. But instead, he swept my legs from under me and I collapsed to the ground, feeling the wind knocked out of my chest as if a thousand tons had just crashed upon me. I looked back up at him.

This wasn't the guy that had stabbed my back. He was different. Changed. "Charmcaster, please let this go."

I blasted him at least ten feet in the air. He fell back down with a loud thump, kicking up dust everywhere around him, brown and grimy. But again, he rose to his feet, coughing and sputtering, gasping for the cleaner air.

After a few moments, he fell to his knees, clutching at his throat, unable to move to find the oxygen necessary to sustain his useless life.

Watching. Waiting. Seeing this suffering. It was incredible. It was the best I'd done in a while. If only Gwen was that easy… "Where is she?" I instantly snapped, the words coming out before I could control them. Ferocious. "Where's Gwen Tennyson?"

His gaze caught mine, distraught and pained as the choking insisted on keeping him silenced.

Joy. I'd have to save him. I wrapped my magic around his torso, throwing him against the side of a cliff with a massive bashing sound and more rocks fell around him, a few hitting his head.

Kevin was left to pant for air. I watched as he braced himself against the wall, palm pressed flat to the smooth surface. "Will you come with me if I tell you?" he offered, with a couple harsh coughs afterwards.

This was a hard hit I wasn't ready to take yet. I grabbed him with my band of pink magic, pulling his face mere inches from my own. "You aren't in a position to negotiate," I growled, my lip curling up a bit at the end. "I wouldn't start anything stupid."

The next second, I found his fist colliding with my skull, sending me sprawling in the dust, skidding a few feet away. He was stronger than I'd ever expected. My head was pounding and I could feel the searing pain ripping through my brain. Staggering to my feet, I held myself up against the cliff's face. "Levin, don't mess with me."

His eyes were trained on me with this ultimate hatred. "You really want to say that? You aren't in a position to negotiate, Charmy." He got that quirky little smile.

I whipped him against the wall, his head slamming against it harder than I intended. "Kevin," I hissed, keeping myself out of his swinging arms this time. I learn faster than he probably anticipated I would. "This isn't time to make jokes. Where's Gwen?"

He realized this was the end of this. He struggled very little before falling limp. Then looked to me. "She's gone. That's why I need your help."

Those were words I never thought I'd hear. "You? Need help?" I let out a hard laugh that was quickly silenced by the dust around us. "Why?"

"She was killed. Haven't you noticed the lack of aliens in here?" He gestured to the rest of the Null Void around us. I turned to find that even the Guardians weren't flying above. It was empty. Desolate.

Another fist slammed into me and I crumpled to the ground, feeling weak again. Kevin could put up a good fight, I'd give him that. This pain echoed through my bones and blood.

Standing over me, he leaned down and offered his hand. "It's my fault and I need to fix it."

I took it, getting up with his help before quickly turning to blast him into the sky once more. He came back down with a thud, limbs hitting the dust and bouncing right back up. "You shouldn't con, Kevin. It's not good for you."

"Why else would I come in here?" he snarled, barely getting himself up off the ground. His arms were shaking with the effort. That last hit should've been the end. I just had to blast the armor off… It occurred to me that he was flesh. No armor, no mutation. He was…normal. "I can't fight you, we've seen that," Kevin continued, voice low and shaking. "But this is here and now. I need help and you're one of the few people left that can give me what I need."

I found a smile and hit him again. Harder. He fell back to the ground, giving a tiny moan. "Charmcaster, I'm serious."

"About what?" I hissed, leaning in so my breath moved the fine ebony hairs that hung over his forehead.

"Gwen's gone. If you want to destroy her personally, you're going to have to save her first." His onyx eyes fluttered closed for a moment and his breathing was ragged. His chest rose and fell unevenly. "I need your help to bring her back."

I had to think this over for a minute. Gwen. Gone. And I didn't do it. I wasn't her killer. That was a big disappointment. I wanted to crush her until she was a pile of dust, like the one that layered the entire Null Void. But did I want to save her so I could kill her? Not exactly. Saving wasn't on my to-do list. That was more of a hero thing. But did I want to kill Gwen? Yes. I wanted to kill her more than I wanted to breathe in the fresh air of Earth again. I leaned down to give Kevin my hand. "Deal."

He took my hand and gave a tiny smile of gratitude. "Come on," he said, standing up fully but favoring his right leg. I must've hurt him worse than I'd thought. "The portal is over here."

"I still don't understand why you trust me."

Kevin was silent. Then sighed and replied, "Because I have to."

We found the red vortex waiting for him. And me now. He was the first one through, then I followed quickly after.

The air was sweet and pure. I couldn't drink in enough of the stuff. "Got her," Kevin said, falling into the nearest chair and relaxing for a minute. The bruises were visible in the fluorescent lighting in this warehouse like room. "It wasn't easy." He was beat up bad. It looked like I'd totally annihilated him. And without his armor, I probably had. A thick cut ran along his forearm, bleeding hard. I hadn't seen that before...

A slightly built Asian girl moved in to take care of him. "Is she on our side?"

He only gave a nod. "Yeah." Then let out a little moan. "Julie, can you make it stop hurting?" He rubbed his hand across his forearm. It was covered in red sticky blood. He saw it, pulling his gaze away. "Julie," he whined.

"One second," the dark haired girl muttered. She looked around. "First aid kit in your car?"

A nod. "In the back." His head fell back against the chair, his eyes closing. "Charmcaster, let Cooper fill you in while I recooperate over here." Then realizing the play on words, he let out a tiny chuckle that ended with a sputtering cough. Kevin was pretty banged up. Bad.

Hand touching my arm, I spun to find a short, fat, blonde boy. Cooper, I assumed. Then I recognized him from before. We'd fought him as the Negative 10. It was a pretty bad loss for me and Hex.

"So here's the deal," he began and I listened, keeping my gaze flicking to Kevin every few seconds. The girl, Julie, returned. She began to patch him up. He kept wincing, but biting his lip to keep the pain from showing. She could fix him on the outside, but the inside was irrepairable. We had to get Gwen back. Or else fighting him just wouldn't be the same.

**A/N: I know, shorter. And if you found any places where it referred to mutated Kevin, pretend it wasn't there! Sorry! I started and it kind of got out of hand. Originally, it was a much better fight, but it's hard to write compared to watching it on tv. I'll give Man of Action props for the fight scenes. He's good at that stuff. Reviews are welcomed!**

**~Sky**


	8. Team Up

**A/N: okay, another chappie of Destruction!! U know u missed it!!**

**Disclaimer: own nothing**

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Kevin climbed into the passenger seat, his hair falling everywhere around his face. He gave a disgruntled snarl and kicked the pedal down so it hit the floor of the car.

The Asian-American girl nearly fell out of the car, her foot barely pulling out of the way before the door slammed. She felt the leather against her arm and carefully guarded herself. She wasn't sure what to do with this new version of Kevin. Or hanging out with Charmcaster. Or this other guy. Cooper.

So far, she was freaking out. This was hard to understand and wrap her mind around the concept. Then, there was the added issue of living with all these problems. Losing Ben… That was the hardest for her.

"Dropping into a slight problem, we don't have any idea where it is," Kevin murmured.

They all paused.

"So you dragged me out of the Null Void for nothing?" Charmcaster hissed, instantly going defensive. "I'm here instead? This sucks!"

"Sorry," growled the dark teen. "I was working out that as I went along. But give me a minute or two. Maybe Max can-"

"Can what?!" spat the silver haired girl. "Bring out more people to destroy everything? This is not a good time to be telling us, Levin! Are you stupid or something?!"

"Yeah, just a little!" Kevin yelled. "I'm struggling a bit from losing my powers and being reduced to nothing much than a worthless human who's only skill is to destroy some stuff bare-handed. It's not very easy for me! You've at least got yourselves in one piece! The rest of my armor is in the freaking warehouse! I'm nothing compared to you guys!" He slammed a fist down on the dashboard. "I'm worthless!"

Julie wanted to reach up and put a hand on his shoulder to soothe him, but with Kevin so fragile… She wasn't sure what to do. Helping him wasn't quite out of the question, but it wasn't easy to do. "You're not worthless."

"He's a pile of blood and skin. Doesn't even really deserve to live. No powers or anything-" Charmcaster was cut off by Julie whose face was flushing red with fury.

Julie held her breath, struggling to contain her anger. "Kevin's just as good as the rest of us. I have no powers either, but I'm still here. I am still part of this team. I am still important to everyone. He's been reduced to the same status as I'm at, but he's got the car, he's got the plan, and he knows what's going on." Her voice was filled with this rage. "You're not worth much either considering he was the one who dragged you out of the Null Void in the first place. So build a bridge and get over it!"

Kevin's eyes slowly softened. He was particularly fond of that last line, wondering why he hadn't thought of it himself."Thanks, Jules."

She gave a tiny huff, replying, "No problem." She brushed her bangs out of her face, flicking her wrist a bit sharper than she meant to. Her brown eyes were flushed with irritation. She held her head high with that shred of dignity she had left.

Charmcaster folded herself into the car's seat, pissed beyond belief.

Cooper remained in his silence, questioning his own abilities towards this team.

There was this silence, not awkward, but chosen. There was tension within the group, not unlike the one that there was with the original team. Stress and uncertainty. There was a calm sense of serenity, but still dangerous patience. Each was wondering how they would survive this.

"How are we going to find it?" Cooper asked. He leaned up so his face was close to Kevin's. None of them were allowed to get near that passenger seat. It was reserved for Gwen and always would be in Kevin's mind. So all three were crammed into the backseat. It was not a good combination for them.

Charmcaster: destructive, impatient, ready for this fight.

Cooper: totally lost in the world

Julie: defensive and powerless, but still ready for anything.

Somehow, they'd have to find a way to get the team to work.

And with the confusion from Kevin, it wasn't making anything easy. He was unsure of himself and his own ability to lead this team. This was an issue. He didn't know how Ben worked to control people, but Kevin knew this wasn't going to work for him. He wasn't cut out for it. He needed to be stronger, faster, smarter, better. The dark teen wanted to give up now.

Gwen was counting on him whether she knew it or not.

Kevin had no choice. "Here's what I'm going to do," he said as the car was rounding the corner of Mr. Smoothy. "I'm going to call Max and get the most recent location stuff and figure out where we're headed. I'll call you guys whenever."

Charmcaster was the first one out of the car before it was even parked properly.

Then Julie was next, slowly giving Kevin one hopeful look before her feet hit the blacktop of the parking lot. She wished she could help him, but the Asian American had a strong feeling that helping him at this point was futile. All he needed was some time to recuperate from this pain he was suffering. He'd lost Gwen. She knew the pain, but Ben… it wasn't near as bad. She didn't understand quite what he was feeling perfectly. He'd met that perfect person whereas Ben was just another bump in the road for the end. She didn't expect to last forever with him. Gwen and Kevin were meant to be together. It wasn't doubted. It just existed. Soulmates and everyone could tell, that was the worst part.

Cooper crawled out of the car. "Good luck, Kev," he said, voice soft.

"Thanks." The word came out as barely a murmur, almost a whisper, still pained as ever. Kevin was lost and hurt. Where to turn wasn't even the next question. He had to focus on so much more.

Letting his head fall into his hands, Kevin focused on a bit of the normal world again. Ebony eyes piercing the others as they walked away, he was finally able to take a few breaths and remember why he had to do this.

For Gwen.

For Ben.

For humanity.

For all alien kind.

For the universe.

So far, there was a lot on Kevin's plate. And not like life was getting much easier for him.

There was silence and he didn't like that. At all. So he flipped on the radio. And depressing music wasn't about to make it any better, but he left the song on anyways, liking the way it filled the quiet that was echoing in the car. Something that sounded vaguely like a band that… Kevin felt his throat closing up. A band that Gwen liked. He wanted to bang his head into something. He needed sleep too… Nothing was really going his way lately.

**~NEW DESTRUCTION~NEW DESTRUCTION~NEW DESTRUCTION~**

Julie threw herself down onto a bench. "This is going to work," she told herself. "Kevin knows what he's doing."

"Does she always talk to herself?" Charmcaster asked, pallid skin glowing in the faint moonlight that was left before dawn. The sun was already peaking over the horizon. She looked at the tiny shack with its dark windows and giant sign. With a walking smoothie on it? Really? The silver haired girl was practically glittering in the distinct shine of the nighttime's sun.

Cooper wasn't about to say a word to either of them. He was fine with Julie, but Charmcaster was an entirely different story. He remembered those times back when they were all kids and she had that same evil smile and malicious eyes. Her purple powers… he remembered those now more than anything. So terrifying when he couldn't do anything about it but be stranded and hopeless to defeat. "Just shut up." He wasn't about to let Julie go down easy either. So silence from them both might've been the best idea.

And with that, they both remained silent.

The blonde boy was glad he'd said something.

* * *

**A/N: next, the songfic(s) for Kevin. Review!**

**~Sky**


	9. Found It Again

**A/N: you know how I am. All over the place and jumpy and confused and yada yada yada. So here's the deal.**

**(While I wait in all my agony to post 'Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda'…), I give you… ANOTHER CHAPTER OF A NEW DESTRUCTION!!!! AAHHHHH!!!! So let's destroy some stuff. Not really. Although now I have inspired myself yet again…**

**Disclaimer: don't own songs. Or Ben 10. wanna own both. Well, I have Ben 10 on tv and all that and… I'm babbling. Srryz. Songs aren't mine either, obviously.**

* * *

**Kevin's POV**

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house_

I couldn't believe this. I was already losing trust from Charmcaster and I knew Cooper would be soon to follow. Julie had everything to gain from this and I had a feeling she wouldn't leave me out in the cold to fight everything alone. She would side with me.

_  
That don't bother me_

A downpour kicked up outside. I sat up and looked out the window to see the silver haired woman staring out at the rain with a scowl. Julie was smiling and getting up. Cooper was watching her intently. The Asian-American went out from under the cover of the lone canopy and let the drops rain down around her, soaking her hair and face and filling her eyes.

_  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out_

I couldn't watch any longer. I gave up on trying to rest and went to the backseat. I was cold. I was tired. I was hungry, but I didn't know how long I could go without crying over this.

_  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though_

It's better off when I'm alone than when I'm driving with them along. It'd be too hard to keep going with that. I stretched out and covered my face with my hands I feel my eyes laced with moisture and I'm not sure how to cry any more. It seems like it's been a lifetime since I was able to just let it all go.

_  
Goin' on with you gone_

_Still upsets me_

Silently, I feel wet streaks down my face and I know it's going to be a long night. I know I'm going to be miserable for a long time.

_  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay_

Somehow, I know I'll get through. I wanted to make it through. I wouldn't let her die without me putting up the fight of my life. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted her back.

_  
But that's not what gets me  
_

The music was the only thing that really caught up with me and I sat there listening to the pounding on the roof. My heart hurt so bad I could really feel it.

_  
What hurts the most  
Was being so close_

It's not one of those things that are just in your head. My chest felt like Ben had just leapt on me full force as Fourarms or Humongosaur. I knew how much that _could_ hurt. It was even worse.

_  
And havin' so much to say  
And watchin' you walk away  
_

Gwen was dead. It was my fault. I wished I hadn't hurt her. I wished it wasn't my fault. I wished I didn't have a stepdad. I wished I wasn't even born. I wished my moron of a stepdad wasn't even born. Man, it just sucks in general.

_And never knowin'  
What could've been_

This hurt so bad that I couldn't even bear it for very long. Crying was hard enough. Then actually talking about it… That was something Gwen would insist on if she were still here. But since she wasn't, I had a suspicion Julie would try and step into Gwen's place. Temporarily or permanently, I had no idea. But I liked having someone I could trust right there in the passenger seat to keep it away from those I wasn't too sure on.

_  
And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

And Gwen didn't even know how hard I did try. Hours wasted on that safe house that didn't even work. Time spend chasing her, only to be running in place, getting nowhere.

_  
It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you everywhere I go  
But I'm doin' it_

This wasn't going to be easy. At all.

_  
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone_

I wiped my eyes and lifted my head to see them all sitting there, talking innocently. About me, obviously. Cooper's gaze kept darting to me for only moments and then flicking back to Julie and Charmcaster.

_  
Still harder gettin' up,_

_Gettin' dressed,_

_Livin' with this regret_

So I put my head back down against the window. It made my skin cold.

_  
But I know if I could do it over  
I would trade, _

_Give away_

_All the words that I saved_

_In my heart  
That I left unspoken_

And the rain still poured on outside, filling up little holes in the blacktop and creating puddles the size of huge pancakes.

_  
What hurts the most  
Is being so close_

I watched her die.

_  
And havin' so much to say  
(Much to say)  
And watchin' you walk away_

I watched her suffer.

_  
And never knowin'  
What could've been_

And now that I thought about it again-

_  
And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was tryin' to do, oh  
Oh yeah_

-I might've been able to save her.

_  
What hurts the most  
Was being so close_

I could've thrown myself in the way.

_  
And havin' so much to say  
(To say)  
And watchin' you walk away_

It would've registered my DNA instead of hers. It would've killed me instead.

_  
And never knowin'  
What could've been_

Maybe it would've worked. Maybe it wouldn't've.

_  
And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

But I think I deserve a little bit of credit for putting in the effort.

_  
Not seein' that lovin' you  
That's what I was trying to do, ooo_

The DJ decided to cut into the song. _"Yup. That's one of the older songs by Rascal Flatts. This is a newer song by Kelly Clarkson. Listen up to 'Already Gone'."_

_Remember all the things we wanted_

Oh god. Not another sad song. How much more torture could I take? I'm strong most days, but after an awful night of losing Gwen, taking on the responsibility of a team, and now working to fix it all, I did _not_ need sad music to top it off.

_  
Now all our memories they're haunted_

And worse yet, another favorite of Gwen's. I had a couple of her cds saved in my car. She always brought something new to show me. I never actually liked much of it.

_  
We were always meant to say goodbye_

Hardly any bands left a lasting impression on me. Except like one or two. And even then, I wouldn't listen to them on a regular basis. Not like I listened to my own music.

_  
Even with our fists held high_

I'd tried. I tried to keep her with me. I tried to keep them all. I mean, an entire universe resting on my shoulders didn't leave much time for sleep. That was the reason my eyelids felt so heavy now, but my mind was wide awake, going through the motions of living.

_  
It never would've worked out right  
We were never meant for do or die_

I could even hear the lyrics to this one through the rain. I didn't try to listen, but it made the pain sink in deeper, through my layers of defense and offense and it seeped through the last of my shields and I was exposed to the extreme hurting of loss.

_  
I didn't want us to burn out_

Those puddles filled deeper with that cold, solemn rain.

_  
I didn't come here to hold you, _

_Now I can't stop_

I joined the team to finish a mission. To find Max. And once we did, it should've been over. I should've disappeared back into trading, keeping close to the rules of parole and working to actually change myself.

_  
I want you to know that it doesn't matter  
Where we take this road_

_Someone's gotta go_

She left me. By mistake. On accident. Because of a stupid fight, I doomed billions and billions of life forms to extinction across the universe.

_  
And I want you to know,_

_You couldn't have loved me better  
But I want you to move on, _

_So I'm already gone_

My heart still beat strong and steady, aching. Hers was gone, freed and probably dancing around somewhere. I hoped she knew how hard I tried. I prayed. For the first time in a long time. To her. To Gwen.

_  
Looking at you makes it harder_

Another tear crested down my cheek, leaving its stain across the monster that I had become.

_  
But I know that you'll find another  
That doesn't always make you want to cry_

Something golden and shimmering fell from my pocket, onto the cold leather, sliding into the slit between the seats. Only a tiny bit of the chain still remained visible.

_  
Started with a perfect kiss then_

_We could feel the poison set in_

I stared at it before slowly letting the realization kick in. Oh. My. God. I couldn't have even given it to her before she left. It probably would've carried with her into whatever life was next. But at least she would've had it.

_  
Perfect couldn't keep this love alive_

The rain hammered my windshield, making it like a waterfall.

_  
You know that I love you so,_

_I love you enough_

_To let you go_

I gave her the locket so she'd remember me.

_  
I want you to know that it doesn't matter  
Where we take this road_

_Someone's gotta go_

Now I needed it to remember her.

_  
And I want you to know_

_You couldn't have loved me better_

And everything we had.

_  
But I want you to move on_

_So I'm already gone_

As if I wasn't already a big enough wreck, I had to let a few more tears loose, glad no one could see them.

_  
I'm already gone,_

_Already gone_

She was dead. I wouldn't let that go unavenged. Gwen had given me hope for something new.

_  
You can't make it feel right,_

_When you know that it's wrong_

I laid there for a long while. The rain pounded down around the car, drumming against the windows. The sound was supposedly relaxing. Maybe in another life. Maybe for someone else. Not for me.

_  
I'm already gone_

_Already gone  
There's no moving on,_

_So I'm already gone_

The locket sat in my palm, the gold shimmering under the light of the coming day. I couldn't believe only a day had passed. Only a day. Gwen hadn't even been gone twelve hours.

_  
Already gone, _

_Already gone, _

_Already gone_

So I opened the latch on the chain and put it around my own neck.

_  
Already gone,_

_Already gone,_

_Already gone,_

_Yeah_

I flipped open the actual locket part. The picture stared back at me. Gwen was sitting there, so innocently, so beautiful. Her eyes were that shade of emerald that I loved, still seeming to sparkle, even in a picture. Her fiery red hair was like silk. It was such a bad picture of me, but she looked like a million dollars. Actually, the girl was priceless, she was so incredible.

_  
Remember all the things we wanted  
Now all our memories they're haunted  
We were always meant to say goodbye_

I looked like… myself. Same ebony hair. Same black eyes. Same dark clothes. Normal. Now it felt like normal was at least a lifetime ago.

_  
I want you to know that it doesn't matter  
Where we take this road_

_Someone's gotta go_

Slowly, I closed it up again. I tucked it under my shirt. It felt good to feel something warm so close to me, that one piece of Gwen I had left. A small fragment of her, but a piece.

_  
And I want you to know _

_You couldn't have loved me better_

I heard puddles splashing outside. Not just raindrops, but footsteps.

_  
But I want you to move on_

_So I'm already gone_

Quickly, I pulled myself up from lying on the seat, wiped away the surviving tears and made sure the gold chain wouldn't show. I had to make sure my reputation wouldn't suffer because I couldn't control myself. I still had an image and a shred of dignity to keep alive.

_  
I'm already gone,_

_Already gone_

I clamored back into the driver's seat just as the passenger side door opened and Julie looked in. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked, brown eyes trained on me, so soft and gentle.

_  
You can't make it feel right_

_When you know that it's wrong_

Was I? I had to be. I had to keep moving. I had to see if this would really work. "Yeah. Should be."

_  
I'm already gone,_

_Already gone_

The Asian-American gave me a soft smile. "Ready to go?"

_  
There's no moving on_

_So I'm already gone_

"Yeah."

* * *

**A/N: this took me _weeks_ to write. Pretty sad since I can whip off almost anything else. I just started it, forgot about it, then started it again and hadn't found time since.**

**So what'd you think? Like it? Not so much? Maybe? Idk? Review and help me out! I thought Kevie was a lil OOC in this one… srry.**

**~Sky**


	10. Roadtrippin'

**A/N: working, working, working. NINJA!!! Working, working, working…**

**Disclaimer: nothing is mineeee…**

* * *

**Julie's POV**

I watched Kevin's rigid hand on the wheel. He was definitely going through with this. All the way to the death. With his knuckles turning white, I cast my gaze out the window. He'd let me sit in the passenger seat so I wasn't tempted to reach over and strangle Charmcaster while she sat there saying things about Ben and Gwen that would make me want to kill her.

And there were plenty of reasons for me to want to kill her.

We were flying down a highway at about two hundred fifty miles an hour. Kevin had the boosters on in the back, but it didn't feel like we were going fast unless I looked out the window.

Small shrubs flew past in the darkness as the moonlight washed over the nearly empty landscape. In the distance, one tree stood alone, glittering in the faint light until it disappeared from the high speeds that Kevin pushed the car to.

So far, no cops had found us. And if they did, Charmcaster could take care of them without even trying. Kevin could shake them probably.

I had no doubts that this team could pull off anything. I was just along for the ride, sure, but I was probably the only thing that was keeping us from killing each other.

Charmcaster was pushing some huge limits. More than once Kevin had lunged for her and screamed that she was going to be dead before she could take another breath, but Cooper managed to drag Charmcaster out of his reach and I always grabbed Kevin's arm. The air caught in his throat and he slumped back into the driver's seat and put the car back on the road from the wild path we had been on before.

There were times when I wished we had Ben back. I knew I couldn't say a word about Gwen, even though I missed her. She was like my annoying older sister, watching over me, keeping me safe. In a literal sense too.

Ben was the leader. He kept people together and he kept them grounded even when his own head was swelling from being Mr. Hero Boy. Ben was just fun to be around. Almighty superman, but also the normal guy that played soccer in his free time. He'd saved the world. And left the four of us to defend it.

Obviously, that wasn't going over well.

We'd been on this road trip to Idaho for almost three days now. We only stopped for three meals a day before moving on at top speeds over some pretty strange terrain. If I'd had Ship, we would've been there and gotten Ben and Gwen back easily. But we didn't have Ship and we didn't have them back. We didn't even know if Kevin's plan was going to work. And how in the world was Cooper going to reverse anything? What was there to reverse?

Instead of sitting in silence, Kevin moved one hand and flipped on the radio. The screeching voice of Katy Perry came out. He turned it off again a moment later after I'd identified the song as 'Waking Up In Vegas'. "That was a bad idea," he muttered, face looking grimmer than it had before.

How the heck were we going to put up with a pissed Kevin for another five days?

Charmcaster's head was pressed against the window for only mere moments until she fell asleep like a baby. I looked back at her. I hated her. So much that it hurt.

Cooper was playing around on a laptop he'd brought with him. Or maybe he'd snatched it from the warehouse. It was hard to tell, but he seemed totally sucked into the game as if not even the biggest Highbreed invasion could shake him out of whatever he was busy with.

I kept staring out the window, the darkness making me feel tired. My eyes fell closed for only a moment.

"Julie," came Kevin's voice from the edge of my consciousness. "Wake up."

"Let her sleep," said Cooper from the backseat as he scrambled out the door. Charmcaster was already gone, standing outside in the cold winds that whipped around.

There was a snort from Kevin. "Call me through the badge if I'm needed," he growled. I heard him scrambling into the backseat and the driver's door slammed as Cooper and Charmcaster retreated the motel that we had probably pulled up to for the night. There was a long, pained sigh from Kevin as I heard him settle into the backseat.

Instead of fidgeting or bothering him or getting out of the car this late in the game, I stayed there and fell back asleep, the rhythmic breathing of Kevin lulling me to sleep.

It was the middle of the night again when I woke up. Kevin was still out cold in the backseat when I looked at him. His hair was swished over most of his face, breathing slow and steady. Drool was creeping down the side of his cheek.

Honestly, he looked pretty peaceful for a guy who'd just lost everything he cared about.

I liked looking at him and seeing him just sleep and lay there and breath. This must've been what pulled Gwen to him.

Ben was still funnier when he slept. Drool was all over his face and his eyes were moving the whole time as if he were watching everything in his sleep like some kind of ninja with super senses. Then there was the fact that his hair was always the messiest mop of brown I had ever seen. The best part was when he was snoozing in the garage and Kevin came around with a permanent marker and then Ben woke up with a mustache an hour or so later…

Everything was so funny.

One of the muscles in Kevin's arm twitched.

How in the world were we going to survive without Ben, Gwen, and the other rookies?

* * *

**A/N: just them road tripping around. R&R!**

**~Sky**


	11. There With Weaponry

**A/N: hahaha. I luv the last line in this one!!**

**Disclaimer: no, I do not own it. If I did, the series would be soooo much better…**

**Julie's POV**

I stepped out. Before me stood a massive warehouse. Brick walls. Pitch black tinted windows. In perfect condition compared to the one Kevin had used as a safe house. (I'd been told about it by Cooper. Good thing he filled me in on what happened back there). Perfectly paved parking lot that wasn't even needed. And the best feature yet: a limousine. Sleek ivory with more tinted windows and fancy lights lining every inch of it.

Kevin flicked a hand towards it. "Ignore that. He's just showing off now."

That tipped me off to the fact that Kevin's stepdad was probably a billionaire or something. He had to have the money to build the bomb and he had to have employees to build it for him. Letting it go, I commented, "Yeah, this would actually be a great place to shelter a bomb of that magnitude."

Onyx eyes dug into me questioningly.

"Good place to hide bomb," I translated.

Kevin just nodded and gave me a grateful smile.

Cooper came up behind us. "I've been looking over the schematics and if I loosen those valves there, shred the inner core of it and set up the wave projectors outwards instead of inwards, reversing it shouldn't be a problem."

Kevin nodded then, clearly understanding exactly what Cooper was saying. "Okay, so anything from Charmcaster?" He turned around in the driver's seat to look at her.

Her pink-ish purple eyes sparkled as I looked in through the window at her. Charmcaster hated that she agreed to this now. "Yeah, can someone take me home?"

Kevin's hand clenched the steering wheel tighter. Instead of doing anything about it, he stepped out of the car. "Come on. It's almost over now. He's just inside. From there, we reverse the bomb, take out the moron who started this, and then hope to God that we get out of here before he figures out that I'm not dead and that I planned all this."

"Then let's get going." I was ready to get this over with and get Ben back now. It'd been too long since I'd seen him and too long since we'd kissed and forever since Ship had pounced on me like a crazed puppy. I wanted them both back.

I heard him pop the trunk of the car and held one hand out to stop me. Kevin smirked. "You need to be patient. Forgetting that you're the weakest one here?"

In my defense, all I could reply was, "Look who's talking."

Crap. Did I really just say that?

His face looked stung, but guarded. Kevin always kept his hurt hidden. That was why he had an explosive anger. "Whatever." And that was his only defense mechanism without actually throwing enough punches to kill someone. The raven-haired teen retreated to the now open trunk.

Cooper looked at me, blue eyes soft. "We all make our mistakes."

"I forgot..." I admitted. My mind was on Ben and Ship, the past and possibly the future. But in the present, I had to survive dealing with Kevin and Charmcaster, keeping them from killing each other and keeping them from killing me. My only defense mechanism-

Kevin tossed me something that looked vaguely like a tennis racket. I barely managed to grab it before it hit the ground. Good thing for my quick reflexes. "Press the buttons. It's one of the nicest pieces of tech I got."

Cooper's eyes were wide. He shared Kevin's knowledge of alien technology. When his eyes were wide, it had to mean something.

I looked closely at the handle. Sure enough, a multitude of buttons lined it, each a different color and had a different inscription on the front. Pink would work for the first one. I pressed the pink button.

The head of the racket grew about twenty times it's normal size. "Woah."

Kevin just stood there nodding approvingly. "It's your skill. I thought I'd let you play to it."

I nodded and smiled. "I wish I had this during my matches!"

He bent over the trunk again. "And I," he began. "Get this lil' baby right here." Kevin hoisted a huge gun like weapon out of the rear of the vehicle. And then he pressed a button. It quadrupled in size, creating a weapon about as big as Jetray, but Kevin didn't even seem to stagger under the weight of it. All the muscle on him was real, not just stone.

Cooper's jaw dropped. For being a nerd, he was pretty awesome. It really left me questioning why Cooper and Kevin were even friends. Different ends of the social chain...

"Uh-huh," Kevin said with a chuckle as he saw the blonde boy's face.

Charmcaster had dragged herself out of the car. "Do we have a plan? Go in, slaughter someone, and get out, or what?"

I turned my gaze back towards Kevin. "Why do we need these anyways? It's just your stepfather."

He snorted. "That's exactly why we need them."

I wasn't going to ask any further.

"So just like Charmy said: get in, wipe out the bomb, destroy what we can, get out. Everyone good with that?"

None of us argued with Kevin.

"Cool." He pulled his gun over his shoulder and aimed it towards the warehouse for a moment before turning it downwards by a few degrees and pulling a trigger. Nothing came out of it that I could see at least.

Less than a second later, the limo exploded into a million bits. Shards of glass sprayed everywhere. Metal shrapnel rained from the sky as flames devoured the vehicle that was once a pristine work of art.

Kevin burst into laughter. "You guys don't even know how ling I've been wanting to do that!"

* * *

**A/N: yes, I love that line! He's a funny boy! But he did just eliminate any element of surprise… Review!**

**~Sky**


	12. The Final Battle

**A/N: Time for the second to last chapter. And thanks to everyone for reading even though I know this isn't that popular. I love you guys for it!**

**Disclaimer: don't own. Sorry. I'm working it out with my psychologist though, so no worries!**

* * *

As soon as the flames subsided, Kevin was already charging in, not wanting to risk it all. He didn't stop. He didn't pause. He drove himself through the small glowing embers and leapt over the worst of the fire before bursting through the doors, Charmcaster a few seconds behind him and Julie soon after that, Cooper tagging along almost a minute behind everyone else, empty handed.

There was only one man standing atop a massive platform, around him, thousands and thousands of the species that Vulkanus had favored to be his minions. Or maybe they were actually very, very small people. There was no time to question it because Kevin was already firing at them, several explosions going off at once and the ammo invisible to the naked eye. This had to be an easy battle.

Locket protected beneath the thin cotton shirt he wore, Kevin wasn't afraid to dive in headfirst. He knew this was his chance. His chance to save Gwen and he wasn't about to even think of fear or pain for himself.

Another explosion rocked the building and his eyes narrowed with the focus at hand. This was something serious. She was his only one and Kevin didn't care what happened to him. As long as she had a chance for the future and as long as she was safe again. Gwen had to be safe or he could never live with himself…

Charmcaster was floating above, Hex's wooden staff locked in her death grip, wielding it like an expert sorceress. She kept firing the blue lightning from it that struck down an axe of the munchkins. There, a chain reaction began and one exploded leading to another and another and another until an entire row had fallen. A sinister smile crossed her black painted lips and she kept it up, ready to watch another row fall mercilessly through a chain of exploding axes.

In the center of the room hung a massive device the size of a refrigerator. Spikes rose from the sides in the long box shaped figure. Each pointed spoke contained another piece of the wave that had wiped out the entire race of all aliens in the universe. This was Cooper's target. Kevin and Charmcaster had to hold off the worst of it while Julie took care of leading Cooper towards it when he had no machinery to work with.

Dangerous, that was exactly what it was.

An axe struck Kevin and he spun, giving the culprit the hardest kick he could, sending it back against a wall. Nothing could ever stop him from saving Gwen. _Nothing._

He aimed at the masses of axe wielders and fired again so that the invisible ball of fire struck directly in the center and another explosion shook the walls so that half of them, or somewhere close to half. Just a ton of them. He knew he had to wipe out a whole bunch. He had keep Cooper safe so the small nerd could save the redhead that he loved.

Charmcaster blasted at the creatures behind Kevin. She was safe. They couldn't strike her above their heads. Unless they could chuck their axes and have a direct hit. The odds of that were slim. She fired off another blast of the blue fire and it struck enough minions to knock them dead on the spot.

Julie was trying to fight them all off. It wasn't easy. Yeah, she was skilled in tennis, but she usually tried to _avoid_ hitting people. Now she was doing it to save her boyfriend. That was the only thing that drove her forward. The tennis racket was working perfectly, knocking aside enough of the creatures so that she and Cooper could maneuver their way through the hordes of them to get to the center of the building. But more came flooding in from all directions as if they were being doubled by the hundreds somewhere.

"Help!" came a strangled cry from Cooper and he seemed to drop right in the middle of the floor. The small things were instantly all over him, ripping at his clothes, chopping at his limbs, leaving scrapes and scuffs on his pasty skin.

A blast of flashing blue struck right beside him and he looked up to see Charmcaster defending his side while Julie cleared the way further, oblivious to what had happened behind her. The blue-eyed boy managed to flash a quick smile up at her before heading onward. He had a job to do yet.

This had to be over soon, that was what Julie was praying for. She hated hitting people. Even though they did steal Ben, they didn't deserve to be beaten to death with a tennis racket. It had to be worse than the Rwandan Genocide where heads were chopped off slowly and painfully with machetes. Not even Kevin would wish that upon his worse nightmare… Or maybe he would. That thought dragged Julie's mind away from the masses of munchkins that she kept batting away. Being distracted made it easier on her.

Each moment, more flooded in, as if the enemy's small warriors were being manufactured. They came by the thousands at Cooper and Julie while Charmcaster protected them from above. She knew that the whole war within this building would be lost of Cooper was dead and then the mission would've been useless and she could've gone back to reading Hex's spell books instead of wasting her time here.

A surprised cry had rung out and Kevin's gaze never tore from the hordes of creatures trying to kill him. He knew that even a slight distraction would've gotten him killed or at least given the enemy an advance.

Pain dug into his back and he had to kick again only to find another axe rip through his shirt and then tear through his skin to draw blood. It soaked the cotton of his shirt and he just knew what he needed. He needed one thing to go right for him. He spun and kicked again only to find the masses building behind him. No longer did he have the sorceress to watch his back. Kevin was alone now. He only had to fight for himself. Just like it was back on the streets New York.

Axes were everywhere now. They ripped his shirt to shreds and he had to let out a little yelping cry of agony as they dug deeper into his muscle, piercing skin and leaving him bleeding badly. His weapon still in hand, he tried to ward them off with it. Invisible firing attacked the small creatures and explosions occurred all around him as his line of defense was dying out and he was trying to just fire to kill a few so Julie and Cooper would have a better chance.

They covered him. One clung to his leg. Then another. A third was grabbing for the firearm that was balanced over his shoulder. It was able to strip it from his grip. Kevin knew he was done for now. He tried to shove a few of them away, but they had already covered him too thickly. He could hardly move and breathe, his lungs full of the stench from their singed masks and skin.

Charmcaster blasted a few more from Julie's path, hoping she was helping the small Asian-American girl rather than hurting her. Her pink gaze strayed to Kevin who was being mauled by the beings, but she knew what he would want her to do. She kept her focus on helping Cooper and Julie.

Now the only thing that stood in their way was a man. Hair golden brown in color and eyes the shade of gray that could only be found in black and white movies. So pure and perfect, nearly the shade of steel. Thin build, still strong enough to be a great fighter though, Julie had no questions about that. His square jaw line was clenched in disgust as his teeth were grinding against each other.

This couldn't be possible. There was no way any group of these _children_ could've found him. Not without… His eyes suddenly became dull and cold, almost lifeless, sinking into his skull. "KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN!"

Yet he could never see the one who had screamed. The voice was recognizable above all the war cries from the swarm of attackers. He just let himself melt into them, no longer a person being attacked, but just a thing ready to die for a cause greater than anyone could ever imagine. He tried to keep gasping in air, but the supply of it was quickly dwindling down to nothing…

Julie wasn't sure if Cooper could manage from here if she held off the ringmaster of the whole plan. She could see why Kevin hated him. It was clear. This man hated Kevin. And Kevin returned the emotions he received, letting them bounce off his walls of defense so that nothing could hurt him.

She swung her massive racket in his direction and he was able to take a quick step back to avoid it. She'd come so far… Julie finally let out a furious yell and threw herself at him, this time swinging harder than ever before…

Charmcaster knew Cooper and Julie were close enough to fend for themselves now. Cooper was already seeming to sink into a meditative stage so that he could connect with the forces that controlled the bomb. From there, the reversal should've gone off flawlessly. Her violet-pink gaze spun to try and find Kevin, but he had vanished in the waves that had slaughtered him. And she didn't have to worry anymore.

Focus set, Cooper let himself be immersed in the electric currents that had recently claimed the lives of aliens across the universe. It was strong. He let his mind of strength seep into the few cracks that held the weapon of mass murders. This _thing_… He began to revive it from the inside out, beginning with the reversal pieces that would set them all free…

Knowing that this could be it, Kevin tried to raise his hand to just touch that chain of gold around his neck. The pendant hung at the base of his throat. He could feel it. Maybe just the thought of Gwen… Seeing her one last time… No longer did he struggle. No longer did he fight it out. He just suffered underneath the blows of a thousand axes that assaulted his powerless and defenseless body.

No one. He was nothing. He was useless. He was weak. That was what he'd always told the child that he had called his stepson. This worthless being was now being slaughtered by his army. He could feel that the small pudgy blonde boy was ripping apart his machine. He didn't care. Who would care? As long as Kevin was good and dead, the man didn't care. All he really wanted was the boy gone. And he would be, soon enough. He was able to dodge another blow that Julie tried to deliver.

This was it. The final moments. Charmcaster knew this could make it or break it. She felt that this was it. Her blue blasts kept Cooper protected, keeping the fighting munchkins away from him so that he could work. Something in her mind was nagging her. For a mere second, she looked back to where Kevin had been. The masses around him were fading away, leaving for a bigger battle. Should she have saved him earlier?

Julie let out a frustrated breath of pure anger. This moron had taken her boyfriend from her. And for some reason, she couldn't find the heart to wipe him out for good.

One single, lone thought struck her. Ship had also been taken. Fury overwhelmed her mind, turning her vision blood red with unbridled rage. Julie let her fingers stray across another button and this time, she swung harder and faster. The second the impact landed on the man's shoulder, he was sent flying across the room of the warehouse, hitting the wall with a sickening crack that sounded a lot like bones breaking or even shattering. Julie wondered what the heck the weapon did to cause that…

Lock. Pivot this. Spin there. Reverse mechanism. Flip. Cooper's thoughts were jumbled with electricity that coursed through his veins. He could hear the sounds of the world around him, but none of it was tangible. He was with his machine and he couldn't do a thing about the world around him. Suddenly, it all came to light and he was able to work faster, less of a hassle in his way as he meditated, setting up his last blast of power to surge through the machine and set it alight so that everything would be restored. Everything would be back to normal again. The mechanism was flipped.

There was a sharp, blinding amount of light and piercing of the night as the universe was illuminated once more in the searing glow of golden light glittered through the building, pounding through the walls until they exploded outward with the force, the ceiling even being shattered beyond recognition. The light spread, replacing all the beings back where they were when the first mass chaos event occurred. Home. Where they belonged.

Searing pain awoke Kevin's nearly dead mind once again, drinking away the last bits of strength he possessed. Then a surge swept through him like a wave drowning him in the middle of the world's biggest storm. Power. Strength. Energy. Once again, he was capable of breathing. The army had died off slowly, leaving what they thought was the corpse of a dead raven-haired teenager. Instead, they had let him breathe, let him survive, let him live to see another day.

Julie's gaze was caught by the light and she had to shield her eyes to keep from going absolutely blind. Her brown eyes were able to see Kevin's dark frame silhouetted in the magic light that rained down from the sky. She knew exactly what it was. His powers were coming back.

Silence followed and the whole building was left in total and utter darkness as the light that Kevin had been floating in for mere moments died away and his body was dropped to the ground with the same terrible echo that had filled his stepfather's body when it had hit that wall…

Charmcaster dropped down beside Julie and Cooper. "We did it?" she asked softly, seemingly breathless from the experiences of the night's battle. Her eyes glowed with silent pride.

There was a short nod from Cooper as his eyes stopped their violent glow of vibrant blue colors. "We did it."

Julie's eyes just looked down into the darkness from the platform that they had managed to get up onto to take out the bomb and to defeat the monster behind it all. "Kevin?" she called softly, looking down into the black abyss.

No answer came.

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**A/N: I swear the whole time I wrote this, my heart was pounding and my head throbbed and now I'm upset because I have to end it this way… I really, really hope you all have enjoyed reading it. This was my first full-length story and now it's almost done. Leave a review if you love it!**

**~Sky**


	13. Awakened

**A/N: okay, I need to start finishing up on some of my stories. This one is almost finished up. Turns out, I got two more chapters. Sorry, but I had to have two… it's for good reasons… trust me.**

**Disclaimer: i. Own. Nuthin at all. Except for my iPod. AND YOU CAN'T HAZ IT!**

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Ben's eyes opened slowly as I stared down at him. "Oh thank God you're alive," I muttered, grabbing him and hugging him before he even had the chance to figure out what the heck was going on. "Benjamin Tennyson, I could've sworn you were dead."

"We're all dead," he laughed, voice hazy and eyes glazed over as his head lolled from side to side.

Of course, that was my cousin. He thought we were all dead beneath fluorescent lights of warehouses and bright computer screens that were blinding enough to make us all believe that we were in Heaven. The icy winds whipped through the open and smashed windows and the gaping holes in the crumbling ceilings.

"Ben, we're fine," I told him, hugging him just that much tighter. He was alive. I was alive. The universe would be back to normal once more.

My mind had been a little fuzzy when I'd woken up from what seemed like an eternal slumber. But the lights had pulled me from confusion and repaired my vision and I'd been shaken alive by Grandpa Max, who was now working to call up the rest of the Plumbers and tell them what had happened.

I stared at Ben some more and I was scared and he was awake now so I flicked his nose and he punched my shoulder and then he shook his head like some skater guy and laughed for a few seconds before putting his head in his hands and saying, "I'll be danged if we're alive."

It felt like we were ten years old again. "Yeah," I replied with a breathy sort of sigh.

There was a hanging silence in the air as Manny, Pierce, Helen, and Alan all collected themselves together in one corner, giving random apologies for things that weren't important, but were now saying because it was right.

Ben's green orbs scanned around the room a bit, inspecting the holes in the ceiling slowly and looking at all of us in the room. "Kevin and Cooper are missing," he noted.

Even I had noticed that. The first thing I looked for when I'd first opened my eyes was any sign of my favorite juvenile delinquent. My only juvenile delinquent. And there was no sign of him. No ID mask on a desk or sitting in a box. No ebony hair in the dark corners of the room. Kevin was gone or missing or whatever. And I really, really wanted him back so I could kiss him again.

"Uh-huh." I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice. Kevin wasn't back yet after hours of me being awake.

Grandpa Max made his way over to us. "Ben, good to see your awake," he said, putting his hand on my cousin's shoulder. "How was the long sleep?"

"Very boring," commented my cousin.

Mine had been long and torturous, thinking over so many memories of Kevin and how I was going to survive without him and living on forever in all of eternity without being able to move or to breathe or to do anything but think for the rest of forever. Without Kevin.

"Where's Kevin?" I asked. I couldn't help that I missed him and that I wanted him back and that I just wanted to let my lips touch his again, but I needed to know where he was.

Max's eyes met mine. "Gwen, I haven't been able to get in touch with him. His badge isn't picking up and I've tried calling Julie and Cooper too, but Coop's badge is off too and Julie's cell phone is giving me voicemail only."

Ben's interest was piqued. "Julie? Why does she matter in this? She's not alien or anything."

Grandpa took a breath for a second before starting. "Kevin put together a team so he could take down the threat. Julie and Cooper went with him and he took a risk and went into the Null Void to get Charmcaster's help-"

"CHARMCASTER?" I spluttered, finding myself in total and utter shock that Kevin would go to _her_ for help.

"He needed a team," insisted Grandpa Max. "He needed some people to help him. And they qualified as enough of a team that he could use to save you guys. As far as I know, they worked well enough to take down the threat and now the universe is back in one piece." He clapped his hands together like this was good news.

"And where's Kevin?" I asked, giving him my questioning stare. There was no way I was letting him get away without answering me. "He's okay, right?"

All I got as an answer was a weak shrug. "I don't know, Gwen."

My panic set in. Where was my Kevin? Was he still alive? Was he still in one piece? What the heck was going on with him and Julie and Cooper and Charmcaster?

I rested my head on Ben's shoulder. His green jacket was actually pretty soft. For being a soccer jacket. That he wore almost every day. That was probably never washed… Ew.

"He'll be fine," said Ben, putting his arms around me in a comforting cousin way. "Kevin knows what he's doing." Then after probably rethinking that, he said, "Okay, well, sometimes, but not all the time because he is Kevin and he is a very confusing kind of person and I think I should probably shut up now… I really don't know a whole lot about Kevin…"

"Clearly," I sighed, very annoyed.

Grandpa Max's badge started beeping from the Rustbucket. He looked over his shoulder, gave us the 'one moment' signal, and headed off to get the call.

And my only wishes were for it to be Kevin or Cooper to be calling and saying "Hey we'll be there in five seconds."

It was them, but that wasn't what they had to say…

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**A/N: short chapter, I know. I think I'm going to finish this up today so look for the next chapter in a few hours…**

**Review!**

**~Sky**


	14. Forever And Always

**A/N: the final chapter! Hopefully I can get this done tonight!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and none of which are in this story…**

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**Kevin's POV**

Gwen… All I had was nightmares of her. I watched her die. Countless times.

Vilgax had taken her and held her out of my reach. I couldn't get to her. I was pinned against a wall by mere minions, defenseless without any armor. All I could do was thrash against my captors until Gwen was thrown against a window that shattered at the force. Her limp body fell down onto the floor once again, staining it a scarlet red with her warm blood that spattered everywhere.

I screamed her name. Over and over and over. She never heard me. I knew when part of me was being ripped away. I'd felt it before. And when she faded, I could feel it. Because the most important part of me was being ripped away.

Then I watched myself. My old form with wings and four arms and a mutated face that could've scarred any small child for the rest of their life. I held her waist. I watched my old self holding her. Crushing her. Squeezing her. She pounded at the massive fist that was wrapped around her, but it was no use. Her mana must not have been working. And she stared right into me. The real me. The new me. And she just screamed, "KEVIN! WAKE UP! HELP ME!"

The monster never stopped, but just laughed evilly at her pitiful attempt to stop her slow and painful death.

"Gwen…" That was all I could muster while the world faded to dark around me. Blackness sucked me into a vortex. I could feel pain setting in that hadn't been there before.

Was I being squished now? No. I wasn't going to die by my own hands. I thrashed, hitting something and feeling my hands go bloody from the sharp stuff that was stabbing into me. Whatever was going on behind the darkness must've been working.

Bolting upright, I found white walls and blinding white lights around me and a loud, deafening scream for Gwen escaping my lips. I put my hands over my ears, trying to drown out the noise around me of more screams that weren't mine. This couldn't be real. She couldn't be dead. She couldn't have been alive. Not after I'd crushed her like that. I'd killed the only one I'd ever cared about that much.

"Kevin!"

I kept holding my head, screaming bloody murder. I didn't want to be awake. Not if she wasn't there. I never wanted to wake up without Gwen ever again. And if I did, there was no way I'd survive in a world without her. I'd have to die.

Hands were on my arms, trying to pin me down. Trying to hold me back. Like the minions. Like Vilgax's little minions, holding me down so I couldn't save her. Leaving me to watch her die at the fingertips of a squid. "YOU CAN'T KILL HER! YOU CAN'T KILL HER!" I lashed out at whatever was holding me, but it had no effect. The lights were blinding and I couldn't make sense of what was around me. It was all too bright and I wasn't going to watch her die if I could prevent it. I had to hit whatever was there. "GWEN!"

"Kevin!" came the same voice again. The grip on me tightened and I couldn't help but stop and pause so that I could take a few quick breaths and try and figure out what was going on outside of the dark curtains that covered my consciousness. My heart raced at about a million beats a second and I knew I wasn't anywhere near Vilgax. So whoever was holding me back couldn't have been minions.

Then I was being shaken by those hands. "LET GO! LET GO!" I screeched, going back to my yelling and crying and trying to just get a little bit straight on where I was, how I got there, and whether Gwen was dead or not. Because if she was, I'd need to find a dagger to drive through my heart. I couldn't live knowing I'd failed her.

I was released. "Kevin, it's Ben! Kev, you gotta calm down!"

His voice made sense. He was yelling, but he was being totally serious and I thought I could hear the slightest touch of worry to his tone. And I kept my hands on the sides of my head, my breathing totally a ragged mess now that my heart rate was off the charts and just concentrating on recognizing his voice took all my effort. "Benji…" I breathed. This meant… She… Gwen… "Ben…" I tucked my knees to my chest and buried my face into them.

And yeah, this may sound like a wussy thing to do, but I cried right there. I wasn't dead. Gwen wasn't dead. And just as an added bonus, Benji was alive.

The door opened and the sound was in the background compared to all the muffled sounds of me trying to block out all noise and then crying into my knees (I was nearly dead so it's not wussy at all). "Kevin," came a sobbing voice and I felt arms around me in a hug that I needed so desperately.

"Gwen," I whimpered, pulling her in closer to me. She was alive. She was okay. The familiar scent of grapefruit enveloped me. "Gwen." And I was crying harder into her shoulder this time, knowing that she wasn't gone. She wasn't going to leave me now.

"Kevin, you scared the crap out of me," she said. "Julie called me and said you were dead. They said you weren't going to make it because you'd snapped your neck, but…" She buried her face in my skin. "I thought you were dead…" Gwen's grip on me tightened. "Don't die…"

I pulled her closer to my chest after I had let my knees back down onto whatever hospital bed I was laying on now. As if I hadn't been there enough times for having "mental health issues" as some people liked to call it. "Gwen, I won't."

Someone was behind me, probably standing on whatever pillow I had been laying on before. Ben messed up my hair. "Okay, you screamed in your sleep for the past three hours and they had to sedate you at least nine times in the past two days we've been waiting for you to wake up. And one of the hot nurses said that nine times in two days is a record."

Pushing him off the bed and he landed on the cold, linoleum floor with a _thunk_.

Gwen cuddled against me. "God, Kevin, how did you live?"

"The armor's still on…" I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed. I was upset that I was still a mutated monster… "I can't snap my neck…" My grip on her tightened.

The door opened again and in came Julie and Cooper, Julie doing a victory dance and grabbing her boyfriend off the floor and Cooper cheering because we'd done it. The destruction had passed.

And I had Gwen. Forever and always.

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**A/N: There. You. Go. My first ever full-length story. Finished up! I really hope this was a satisfactory ending for you guys. You're the best readers ever! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! And, as always, leave a review!**

**~Sky**


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